Oregon is viewed as the favorite for Oklahoma transfer quarterback Dillon Gabriel, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Gabriel is expected to take a visit to Eugene this week after entering his name into the portal on Monday.

“Oregon has jumped out ahead as the favorite for Gabriel’s services,” Thamel said on ESPN Tuesday afternoon.

The former Sooner is making his second college transfer, but he’ll be immediately eligible. He has one season of eligibility remaining after making 25 starts during his two seasons at UCF and then 24 starts at Oklahoma in two more years.

ESPN has Gabriel ranked as the best available player in the portal.

The 5-foot-11 Hawaii native threw for 3,660 yards and 30 touchdowns for OU this season while completing 69% of his passes and throwing just six interceptions. He also added 373 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground.

For his career, Gabriel has thrown for 14,865 passing yards and 125 touchdowns. He has a career 63% completion rate and a 1.6% interception rate. He was the nation’s ninth-best passer on deep balls this season, according to Pro Football Focus. (Bo Nix was eighth.)

Among qualified passers overall, Gabriel posted the fourth-best Total QBR in the country (87.3).

With Bo Nix exhausting his eligibility at the end of the season and Oregon moving to the Big Ten, the Ducks have been linked to several high-profile transfer quarterbacks in recent days. That includes Oregon State transfer DJ Uiagalelei, Washington State transfer Cam Ward, and one-time Oregon commit Dante Moore.

According to Thamel, Uiagalelei is considering a move back to the ACC. Moore has also been linked to Miami and Florida State. Ward is viewed as a significant Ohio State target.

The Ducks have Ty Thompson and Austin Novosad in the room already. Three-star Phoenix passer Luke Moga will join the team for the 2024 season. A move for Gabriel would make sense as a one-year bridge between Nix and the quarterback of the future, whether that be Thompson or Novosad.

Of course, the Ducks will also have to consider Thompson’s willingness to continue sitting and waiting. He played in three games as a true freshman in 2021. He backed up Nix in 2022 and then again this season. If he’s asked to sit behind another transfer in his fourth year with the program, he might decide it’s time to move on.