UCF Football: 3 takeaways from runaway victory over FAU in Week 2

3. Dillon Gabriel still a work in progress

When Brandon Wimbush transferred from Notre Dame, it was expected that he would slide in and take over starting quarterback duties for the Knights. Instead, two weeks into the new season, head coach Josh Heupel elected to go with true freshman Dillon Gabriel as his starter for the showdown against FAU.

It was a move that had its ups and its downs. Gabriel threw for 245 yards and two touchdowns in the win, torching the Owls secondary with one big throw after another. That Gabriel reached those marks while completing just seven passes is impressive. Less impressive is that he completed only seven passes on 19 attempts, a completion rate below 37 percent.

Gabriel still obviously has work to do to get more consistent targeting his receivers downfield, but the pros have so far outweighed the cons in terms of keeping Gabriel in the game. The youngster added 19 yards and a rushing touchdown on four carries before exiting the game in the fourth quarter.

In Gabriel, UCF has a quarterback who could develop into the next McKenzie Milton. But that also means they have a gunslinger who needs to be taught how to manage the game more effectively. While that might sound odd to say about such a comprehensive victory, the Knights are still scratching at the surface of their potential with Gabriel taking the snaps on offense.