Gabriel rose to prominence at UCF, where he took over as a true freshman in 2019 and led the Knights to a 10–3 season capped by a Gasparilla Bowl victory, completing 236 of 398 passes for 3,653 yards and 29 touchdowns. By the time he departed Orlando, he ranked sixth all-time at UCF with 7,223 passing yards.

In one of the wildest NFL Draft's we've ever seen, Dillon Gabriel got some help from an unlikely source to predict his landing spot. The former Oregon Ducks quarterback used the power of birds to foreshadow his selection to the Browns at No.