ORLANDO – Following a dominating performance on the field in the season opener for UCF, sophomore quarterback Dillon Gabriel added American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors to his 2020 résumé on Monday.
Gabriel led 13th-ranked UCF (1-0) to seven scoring drives in a 49-21 road victory over Georgia Tech on Saturday, throwing for a career-best 417 passing yards and matching a career high with four passing touchdowns.
The Mililani, Hawaii native went 27-for-41 through the air and rushed for 30 yards in the victory. He was the first UCF signal-caller to throw for over 400 yards since McKenzie Milton in 2017 and he is just the fifth Knight in history to throw for 400 yards and four touchdowns in a game.
It marks the second time Gabriel has earned player of the week honors from the AAC, also receiving the accolades as a freshman after throwing four touchdowns in a win over Stanford.
Gabriel was also named the Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against the Yellow Jackets.
Among the other honorees from the league was UCF true freshman Josh Celiscar, who was named to the conference honor roll for his performance on Saturday. Celiscar forced a fumble, recovered a fumble, and snagged an interception in his collegiate debut. He was also named 247 Sports' National True Freshman of the Week.
Finally, senior Marlon Williams was honored by Pro Football Focus this weekend, earning a spot on the web outlet's National Team of the Week after catching a career-best 10 balls and going for a career-high 154 receiving yards with two touchdown catches.
Gabriel, Williams, Celiscar and the rest of the Knights will be back in action on Saturday on the road at East Carolina in UCF's conference opener.