Heisman candidate set to welcome Boise State to the Bounce House. ‘He can do it all.’
The Boise State football team is set to open the season Thursday at UCF — a program it has never faced — but one of the Broncos’ top defenders has some history with the man taking the snaps for the Knights.
Boise State defensive back Kekaula Kaniho and UCF quarterback Dillon Gabriel are both from Hawaii. They grew up facing each other in Pop Warner games and played for rival high schools. Kaniho played at Kahuku, where he led the team to the open division state title game as a senior. Gabriel went to Mililani, where he set a state record with 9,948 career passing yards.
“He can do it all,” Kaniho told reporters Sunday. “He puts the ball anywhere he needs to on the field. He can take the top off the defense, and he’s also a guy that can move. In the pocket, he can get out and run and buy himself time, so it’s going to be a great challenge for our defense.”
They played each other during Kaniho’s junior and senior years of high school. Kaniho said they haven’t stayed in regular contact the past few years, other than the occasional offseason workout, but he is excited to see how the Broncos’ defense holds up against one of the top quarterbacks in the country Thursday in the Bounce House (5 p.m. MT, ESPN).
“We have to pressure and confuse him pre- and post-snap,” Kaniho said. “He’s just another human, too, and the more you’re harassing somebody and getting up in their face, the less successful they’re going to be, especially at the quarterback position.”
Gabriel is set to begin his third season as the starter at UCF, and he’s climbing in the ranks of the top passers to ever suit up for the Knights. In three years, he’s racked up 7,223 yards and 61 touchdowns through the air. He’s a preseason candidate for the Heisman Trophy after throwing for 3,570 yards, 32 touchdowns and just four interceptions in 10 games last season.
“He can make all the throws,” Boise State defensive coordinator Spencer Danielson said. “He’s a tough quarterback, too. He stands in the pocket. He creates pass lanes for himself. … He has monster throws that are really broken plays, where he gets out of the pocket, evades the initial rusher and makes the throw on the run.”
With former Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn taking over at UCF and planning to call the plays on offense, Gabriel has a chance to put up even bigger numbers this fall. It also doesn’t hurt that he has a plethora of speedy options to target at wide receiver, including transfers Dionte Marks (Florida) and Jordan Johnson (Notre Dame).
“His accuracy really stands out to me, and he has great command of the offense,” Malzahn said. “He’s got a strong arm, and he moves better than you might think. He does a great job of extending plays.”
Gabriel followed another Hawaiian quarterback to UCF in McKenzie Milton, who posted 6,700 yards and 62 touchdowns through the air in 2017 and 2018 while earning the title of American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year both seasons. Gabriel also followed Milton at Mililani High, where he broke most of the older player’s school records.
Milton led UCF to New Year’s Six bowl games in 2017 and 2018, but he suffered a gruesome leg injury in the Knights’ final regular-season game in 2018, which required multiple surgeries and forced him to miss the past two seasons. He announced in December that he was transferring to Florida State, and he’s in the running to win the starting job there.
Milton is more of a threat with his legs than Gabriel, UCF offensive coordinator G.J. Kinne said, but Gabriel will take off and run, and he’s put on about five pounds of muscle this offseason to better withstand the hits a running quarterback is bound to take.
Gabriel has run for 247 yards and six touchdowns the past two seasons, and he’s sure to tuck the ball and run it a few times on Thursday, Boise State coach Andy Avalos said.
Avalos is familiar with Gabriel from his time on the recruiting trail while he was the defensive coordinator at Oregon. He was responsible for recruiting Hawaii and said the strong-armed, athletic quarterback was on his radar.
“We have to be extremely disciplined in passing situations,” Avalos said. “He can do it with his arm. He’s one of the most accurate quarterbacks you will see. But he can extend plays and make plays with his legs as well, so we have to account for him there.”
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BOISE STATE AT UCF
When: 5 p.m. Mountain on Thursday
Where: Bounce House, Orlando, Florida
TV: ESPN (Matt Barrie, Rodd Jones, Harry Lyles Jr.). That’s channel 133 on Sparklight, 206 on DirecTV and 140 on Dish Network.
Radio: KBOI 670 AM/KTIK 93.1 FM (Bob Behler, Pete Cavender)
Series: This is the first game between the programs.
Vegas line: UCF by 5.5
Weather: 75 degrees at game time, 24% chance of rain, 9 mph winds
This story was originally published August 30, 2021 at 8:54 AM.
