Jeff Lebby quickly removed all doubt. Dillon Gabriel is Oklahoma’s starting quarterback.

Once Caleb Williams entered the transfer portal and ended up on USC’s roster, Gabriel was instantly the most experienced quarterback in the OU camp.

“We got one guy on our roster that’s thrown a college football pass,” OU’s new offensive coordinator and QB coach said. “Obviously, he’s thrown a bunch of ‘em; he’s thrown ‘em really, really well.”

But that doesn’t mean this year’s spring practice will be easy for Gabriel.

A two-year starter at Central Florida before he broke his collarbone three games into his junior year, Gabriel is learning a new home, a new school, a new football team, a new receiver corps and a new(ish) playbook.

But at least there’s some familiarity there, thanks to his getting to work previously with Lebby.

Gabriel driving Lebby’s UCF offense as a true freshman in 2019 should provide enough comfort level for both parties as they navigate their way around the expectations of Oklahoma football.

Gabriel started the final 12 games for the Knights that season and earned second-team All-American Athletic Conference accolades. UCF ranked second in the nation at 540.5 yards per game and was fifth in FBS in scoring at 43.4 points per game. Gabriel threw for 3,653 yards as a true freshman with 29 touchdowns and just seven interceptions, and was named the Gasparilla Bowl MVP.

Lebby went on to Ole Miss in 2020 and 2021, and Gabriel became an even better quarterback as he grew into the position. In ’20, he was a semifinalist for the Davey Brien Quarterback Award and the Maxwell Trophy as national player of the year, throwing for 3,739 yards (which ranked second nationally) and 32 touchdowns (fourth in the country). His ’21 season was cut short by injury, but he still threw for 814 yards and nine TDs in less than three games.

“He’s got that much more experience since I left him back two years ago,” Lebby said. “His production was really…