Brett Gabbert: The Engine That Makes the Offense Go
8/7/2023 11:50:00 AM | Football
Brett Gabbert is feeling good.
Check that: Brett Gabbert is feeling 'amazing.'
"Best I've felt in five years," the veteran quarterback smiled after the first practice of fall camp.
And that's great news for Miami Football fans. With 31 starts and 50 career touchdowns already to his credit, the RedHawks' redshirt junior signal-caller returns for his fifth season with the program in 2023 after playing just four games due to injury a year ago.
Gabbert began his career with the Red and White as the program's first-ever true freshman opening day starter at quarterback, finishing the 2019 season as both a conference champion and the MAC Freshman of the Year.
Now he's 23 years old, and hoping to lead Miami Football back to Detroit to bring home another trophy.
"Brett's never taken his foot off the gas," said head coach Chuck Martin. "A lot of players, whether they start as a freshman or not, as they get established in the program, they take their foot off the gas.
"From his mental preparation to his physical preparation, he's on a quest every day at practice to get better: To learn to be a better football player, a better leader of our team and leader of our offense.
"He's got tremendous ability to go along with it, but it's very rare that you have a guy who is that established…and is still trying to outwork everybody in the building every day.
"That's what this team gets from Brett Gabbert."
- - -
Gabbert ranks sixth all-time at Miami in passing touchdowns, completion percentage and passing yardage. He needs less than 50 yards in the latter category to move into the program's top five and pass Gus Ragland '18, who just so happens to be his new quarterbacks coach.
"He's just really mature," Ragland said. "He's a 23-year-old quarterback, and those guys have usually been around the block to know what works and what doesn't…
"I want Brett to be healthy. I know that if he's healthy, he's going to do a lot of great things, he's going to break a lot of records, and most importantly he's going to give our team a chance to win a lot of games."
Gabbert admitted the 2022 season was difficult on him, after suffering a potential season-ending upper-body injury in Week One at Kentucky, returning ahead of schedule on Oct. 22 and then ultimately getting hurt again two games later against Ohio.
"I had a lot of hopes and dreams for the season that came to a crashing halt," he said. "When I got hurt [the second time], I was mad at the world and mad at myself. It just felt like nothing was going my way."
Gabbert even initially put his name in the transfer portal after the regular season ended before deciding to return. "I made an irrational decision that I truly regret," he said. "I told my coaches and teammates that, and I'm thankful that they allowed me to come back.
"I knew this is where I'm supposed to be."
- - -
After the Bahamas Bowl last December, Gabbert was in the news for a different reason when he and his brothers Blaine and Tyler assisted with rescuing four people from the water following a helicopter crash in the Tampa, Fla. area. Blaine, an NFL quarterback, was getting ready for the Buccaneers' regular-season finale that weekend and his siblings were in town to visit for the game. While the three brothers were jet skiing together in Hillsborough Bay on Dec. 29, they came upon a submerged helicopter.
"Blaine was a little bit ahead of us, so he had heard a pop," Brett explained. "I never heard anything or saw anything, but I saw him take a right turn and go pretty fast and just followed him.
"As we got closer, you could see what were the propellers sticking out of the water. From a distance, it look like what a college rower might row in –like a canoe had split in the middle and the two ends were sticking out– but those were the propellers.
"You could see the helicopter in the water surrounded by oil, and then there were four people in the water waving. We got up there, asked them what happened, and got them on our jet skis.
"My brother called 911, and Tampa PD did a great job: They had helicopters, boats, cars, ambulances and fire trucks there within minutes. We got [the three passengers and the pilot] on our jet skis and took them to this nearby beach where they met with paramedics."
Local authorities praised the Gabbert brothers' calmness in the heroic rescue, which didn't surprise Martin at all after he saw the initial headline mentioning Blaine on the TV ticker and called Brett to see if he was involved.
"Three quarterbacks roll in and survey the situation," Martin chuckled. "It's a blitz. There's pressure. What do we do? How do we help?
"Those guys are very comfortable in the water, and as quarterbacks, they're used to stress. It seems like they handled it unbelievably.
"It's so fortunate everybody came out okay, which was wonderful."
"The people that had just gone through the crash were obviously a little panicked and terrified after falling from the sky into the water," Brett said later. "I think we did a good job just staying calm because that's what they needed…
"None of us really wanted it to be on the news. I was even tentative to tell them my name. I just wanted to be the normal pedestrian helping, because I hope that's what every other [person] would do in that situation."
- - -
After an eventful 2022, which also included finishing his undergraduate degree in Kinesiology and Health and beginning his Master's program in Sport Leadership and Management, Gabbert now enters camp rested, refreshed, relaxed and ready to turn the page to a new season, beginning on Sept. 1 with the RedHawks' opener at Miami (Fla).
"I saw a clip of Aaron Rodgers, where he said, 'Just enjoy time with teammates and find a conversation,' so I took that to heart and try to do that here," Gabbert said.
"As you get older and more experienced and go through camp every year, you learn to enjoy the little things, like spending time with your teammates," he added. "None of this stuff is guaranteed…
"I want to be remembered as one of those guys that did everything for their teammates: Just a good dude, a good person and a good guy to have in the locker room."
After so much time on the sidelines last year, he also wants to make sure he's on the field as much as possible this fall and has worked with the RedHawks' staff to optimize his body.
The results are already showing, according to Ragland.
"Brett's really aware: He knows his deficiencies, and he knows what he's good at," Ragland said. "We had some conversations early this offseason about doing some stuff to help his body with flexibility and pliability…so he's had the best offseason in terms of that that he's had.
"He's feeling good and moving as good as he ever has…He's always been a smart kid. But he knows how to be professional. There's not a ton of guys that age that know, 'Hey, I've got to get in the hot tank every day.' Or, 'I've got to put the right things in my body to help me move faster, be stronger and prevent injuries.'"
Martin agreed. "He's really improved his flexibility…his speed, his mobility, and his ability to change direction," he said.
"I'm expecting Brett to stay healthy…to be the leader of our football team, to be the engine of our football team, to be the engine of our offense, and to play his position at an extremely high level.
"I would say that's what he expects too, which is wonderful."
Find more Front Row Features at: MiamiRedHawks.com/FrontRowFeatures.
Tickets for the upcoming Miami Football season are on sale now. Come meet the 2023 RedHawks and watch practice at Kickoff with the Community on Saturday, August 19 in Yager Stadium!
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Check that: Brett Gabbert is feeling 'amazing.'
"Best I've felt in five years," the veteran quarterback smiled after the first practice of fall camp.
And that's great news for Miami Football fans. With 31 starts and 50 career touchdowns already to his credit, the RedHawks' redshirt junior signal-caller returns for his fifth season with the program in 2023 after playing just four games due to injury a year ago.
Gabbert began his career with the Red and White as the program's first-ever true freshman opening day starter at quarterback, finishing the 2019 season as both a conference champion and the MAC Freshman of the Year.
Now he's 23 years old, and hoping to lead Miami Football back to Detroit to bring home another trophy.
"Brett's never taken his foot off the gas," said head coach Chuck Martin. "A lot of players, whether they start as a freshman or not, as they get established in the program, they take their foot off the gas.
"From his mental preparation to his physical preparation, he's on a quest every day at practice to get better: To learn to be a better football player, a better leader of our team and leader of our offense.
"He's got tremendous ability to go along with it, but it's very rare that you have a guy who is that established…and is still trying to outwork everybody in the building every day.
"That's what this team gets from Brett Gabbert."
- - -
Gabbert ranks sixth all-time at Miami in passing touchdowns, completion percentage and passing yardage. He needs less than 50 yards in the latter category to move into the program's top five and pass Gus Ragland '18, who just so happens to be his new quarterbacks coach."He's just really mature," Ragland said. "He's a 23-year-old quarterback, and those guys have usually been around the block to know what works and what doesn't…
"I want Brett to be healthy. I know that if he's healthy, he's going to do a lot of great things, he's going to break a lot of records, and most importantly he's going to give our team a chance to win a lot of games."
Gabbert admitted the 2022 season was difficult on him, after suffering a potential season-ending upper-body injury in Week One at Kentucky, returning ahead of schedule on Oct. 22 and then ultimately getting hurt again two games later against Ohio.
"I had a lot of hopes and dreams for the season that came to a crashing halt," he said. "When I got hurt [the second time], I was mad at the world and mad at myself. It just felt like nothing was going my way."
Gabbert even initially put his name in the transfer portal after the regular season ended before deciding to return. "I made an irrational decision that I truly regret," he said. "I told my coaches and teammates that, and I'm thankful that they allowed me to come back.
"I knew this is where I'm supposed to be."
- - -
After the Bahamas Bowl last December, Gabbert was in the news for a different reason when he and his brothers Blaine and Tyler assisted with rescuing four people from the water following a helicopter crash in the Tampa, Fla. area. Blaine, an NFL quarterback, was getting ready for the Buccaneers' regular-season finale that weekend and his siblings were in town to visit for the game. While the three brothers were jet skiing together in Hillsborough Bay on Dec. 29, they came upon a submerged helicopter.
"Blaine was a little bit ahead of us, so he had heard a pop," Brett explained. "I never heard anything or saw anything, but I saw him take a right turn and go pretty fast and just followed him.
"As we got closer, you could see what were the propellers sticking out of the water. From a distance, it look like what a college rower might row in –like a canoe had split in the middle and the two ends were sticking out– but those were the propellers.
"You could see the helicopter in the water surrounded by oil, and then there were four people in the water waving. We got up there, asked them what happened, and got them on our jet skis.
"My brother called 911, and Tampa PD did a great job: They had helicopters, boats, cars, ambulances and fire trucks there within minutes. We got [the three passengers and the pilot] on our jet skis and took them to this nearby beach where they met with paramedics."
Local authorities praised the Gabbert brothers' calmness in the heroic rescue, which didn't surprise Martin at all after he saw the initial headline mentioning Blaine on the TV ticker and called Brett to see if he was involved.
"Three quarterbacks roll in and survey the situation," Martin chuckled. "It's a blitz. There's pressure. What do we do? How do we help?
"Those guys are very comfortable in the water, and as quarterbacks, they're used to stress. It seems like they handled it unbelievably.
"It's so fortunate everybody came out okay, which was wonderful."
"The people that had just gone through the crash were obviously a little panicked and terrified after falling from the sky into the water," Brett said later. "I think we did a good job just staying calm because that's what they needed…
"None of us really wanted it to be on the news. I was even tentative to tell them my name. I just wanted to be the normal pedestrian helping, because I hope that's what every other [person] would do in that situation."
- - -
After an eventful 2022, which also included finishing his undergraduate degree in Kinesiology and Health and beginning his Master's program in Sport Leadership and Management, Gabbert now enters camp rested, refreshed, relaxed and ready to turn the page to a new season, beginning on Sept. 1 with the RedHawks' opener at Miami (Fla).
"I saw a clip of Aaron Rodgers, where he said, 'Just enjoy time with teammates and find a conversation,' so I took that to heart and try to do that here," Gabbert said.
"As you get older and more experienced and go through camp every year, you learn to enjoy the little things, like spending time with your teammates," he added. "None of this stuff is guaranteed…
"I want to be remembered as one of those guys that did everything for their teammates: Just a good dude, a good person and a good guy to have in the locker room."After so much time on the sidelines last year, he also wants to make sure he's on the field as much as possible this fall and has worked with the RedHawks' staff to optimize his body.
The results are already showing, according to Ragland.
"Brett's really aware: He knows his deficiencies, and he knows what he's good at," Ragland said. "We had some conversations early this offseason about doing some stuff to help his body with flexibility and pliability…so he's had the best offseason in terms of that that he's had.
"He's feeling good and moving as good as he ever has…He's always been a smart kid. But he knows how to be professional. There's not a ton of guys that age that know, 'Hey, I've got to get in the hot tank every day.' Or, 'I've got to put the right things in my body to help me move faster, be stronger and prevent injuries.'"
Martin agreed. "He's really improved his flexibility…his speed, his mobility, and his ability to change direction," he said.
"I'm expecting Brett to stay healthy…to be the leader of our football team, to be the engine of our football team, to be the engine of our offense, and to play his position at an extremely high level.
"I would say that's what he expects too, which is wonderful."
Find more Front Row Features at: MiamiRedHawks.com/FrontRowFeatures.
Tickets for the upcoming Miami Football season are on sale now. Come meet the 2023 RedHawks and watch practice at Kickoff with the Community on Saturday, August 19 in Yager Stadium!
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