Oklahoma Sooners position coach lays down the hammer regarding John Mateer and his spring so far
The Oklahoma Sooners needed a quarterback, badly, coming into the 2025 season. They have been so used to having guys that are instant Heisman Trophy winners or finalists, that last season was completely different in against everything they know. Jackson Arnold and Michael Hawkins are not terrible quarterbacks. But they clearly were not ready yet. […]
The Oklahoma Sooners needed a quarterback, badly, coming into the 2025 season. They have been so used to having guys that are instant Heisman Trophy winners or finalists, that last season was completely different in against everything they know.
Jackson Arnold and Michael Hawkins are not terrible quarterbacks. But they clearly were not ready yet. And, when you have that factored in with the injuries the offense sustained, the bad offensive scheme run by Seth Littrell, and the bad offensive line play, it's hard to play good with the little to no experience that the two of them had and still have.
Arnold moved on to the Auburn Tigers, who the Sooners will play in 2025. Hawkins stayed in Norman and hopes to take over next season. The Sooners hired Ben Arbuckle as their offensive coordinator, and then he brought his quarterback with him in John Mateer, one of the best QBs in the country last season at Washington State.
As for Mateer, everything we have heard out of spring football so far is that the dude is legit. We saw him at WAZU and how good he was, but there were still some questions. I'm not sure anyone on the staff has any questions now, if they ever did.
In fact, some staff members are already saying some pretty crazy things about him, and they haven't played an actual game yet.
"I spent two seasons with Pat Mahomes…John Mateer is a bad bad man!!! A DAWG." – Emmett Jones, Sooners Passing Game Coordinator and WRs Coach
The Sooners seem to have a dude on their hands. But, that's what they do, right? We are used to that during the Lincoln Riley era, but not the Brent Venables era. Sure, there has been Dillon Gabriel, but Mateer seems to be on the level of a guy who can compete for a Heisman in 2025.
Now, comparisons, if you want to call them that, to Patrick Mahomes is a bit crazy. But, who's going to tell the coach who's been with both guys that he can't say that? If Mateer is anywhere near what Mahomes was at Texas Tech, the Sooners are in for a year, as they saw firsthand when he and Baker Mayfield battled in college.
Mateer seems to be turning heads.
2026 four-star defender reveals a cool connection to the Oklahoma Sooners after receiving an offer
That could really help the Sooners.
