Dillon Gabriel is reaching out personally because it’s that important to him.
The Oregon starting quarterback has a great team around him – his NIL manager Steven Smith was instrumental in getting the event together – but he is also individually emailing, texting and calling sports journalists to raise awareness for his free I’m Inspired event on Friday at Mililani High School, his alma mater, where he is using his Name, Image and Likeness money to donate new uniforms to the team. It is refreshing and indicative of the new era college sports is in when a starting college quarterback can directly reach out to anyone and everyone he wants to make his voice heard.
“I wanted people to hear my story,” Gabriel told 247Sports. “I wanted people to hear from my mouth that this is important. Mililani High School, my experience there was probably the most difficult time of my life in terms of myself and creating a foundation of how I want to be in my life but also how I conducted myself in football. It set me up for success and I’m grateful for that place so I want to pay it forward to all these younger athletes.”
Gabriel has teamed up with major brands like Nike, VICIS, Riddell and Raising Cane’s to make Friday’s event happen. There has already been a buzz about the event back in Gabriel’s Hawaiian hometown of Honolulu and he’s hopeful that his giving back can help inspire the next generation of athletes coming out of Mililani High School. In his first spring at Oregon, the former Oklahoma and Central Florida quarterback has seen firsthand how beneficial even a small thing like nice new uniforms can have on a player’s confidence.
“Look good, feel good, play good,” Gabriel explained. “You’re able to inspire them because they are proud of the product they put on the field and how they look while doing it. Who knows if one uniform can inspire someone to want to play sports that could change their life and get them to the next level to get their college paid for and set themselves up for success.”
Friday marks the culmination of a lot of effort and time for Gabriel and the rest of his team. He doesn’t plan on stopping there, though. He already knows what he wants to do next for the school that had such a big impact on shaping his life, both as a person and as a football player. It’ll be expensive, but he’s already shown an unique ability to bring together major sponsors around his dreams of helping the next generation.
“The weight room is coming, the training room is coming, the branding around the school is coming,” he said. “I think the biggest thing is how do we provide next level resources so they are able to compete at their best. How do you expect somebody to play at their best if they don’t have the best resources.”
