PASADENA, Calif. (KOIN) -- Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel has led the Ducks to a berth in the College Football Playoff and was a Heisman Trophy finalist. But his support system all season long has been his fiancé, Zo Caswell.
The couple met 10 years ago, she told KOIN 6 News.
"We met in the summer of 6th-to 7th grade actually, because we were both new to this school. We had a little orientation class. We met gardening, funny enough. He kept coming closer and closer to me and I was like, ‘Who’s this weird guy?’” Caswell said.
They dated briefly in middle school, then began seriously dating in 11th grade.
"I would’ve never imagined our life to be like this," she said.
She's watched a lot of football, but that doesn't mean she's gotten better at that.
"I’m so anxious. I’m so stressed out. I’m a mess, honestly," she said. "Everything goes through my mind, but it is fun at the same time and obviously when you get the win at the end of the day it’s the best."
Gabriel said she's meant everything to him. "When you can come home to a person that just understands you for being you, and you don’t necessarily have to say anything, you appreciate that."
And they've made the most of their Oregon experience during their year in Eugene.
"I’ve gotten really close with a lot of the girlfriends on the team. He’s also gotten really close with a lot of the guys. I think that was one of our goals coming in," she said. "We knew we’d be here for only a year and I think when you know that you can either say, ‘Hey, I’m going to keep to myself. We only have a year,’ or you could choose to go out and make friends and open yourself up. And I think we both kind of chose to do that."
Caswell said she hopes Gabriel chooses to have fun during this CFP run.
"I think they have so much pressure on them, Dillon and the team. We forget to have fun at times. There’s so much pressure. You always want to win, you want to be perfect, but you want to look back in 20 years and be like, ‘Wow, that was a really cool time in my life.’"
Zo Caswell is not a fan of flying. Her first road game this year outside of Oregon was the Big 10 championship, but she said she will be at every stop the rest of the way -- however long it goes.
