Future of the Sooners arrives as the top player in the transfer portal commits to Oklahoma
It’s official: The Oklahoma Sooners have their starting quarterback for the foreseeable future. Washington State quarterback John Mateer officially committed to the Sooners on Wednesday after visiting Oklahoma this week. This is a massive, massive pickup for the Sooners, who desperately needed to figure out their quarterback situation for next season. With the offense needing […]
It’s official: The Oklahoma Sooners have their starting quarterback for the foreseeable future. Washington State quarterback John Mateer officially committed to the Sooners on Wednesday after visiting Oklahoma this week.
This is a massive, massive pickup for the Sooners, who desperately needed to figure out their quarterback situation for next season.
With the offense needing to rebound from a disappointing 2024 season, it shouldn't be surprising that the Sooners wanted an experienced quarterback. His familiarity with new offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle and his scheme is the icing on the cake.
This past season, Mateer finished 16th in the country in passing yards with 3,139, and his 29 passing touchdowns tied him for fifth place (one more than Dillon Gabriel this season). He helped the Cougars to an 8-4 finish, including wins over Texas Tech and Washington. After seeing Oklahoma's passing "attack" this past season, that will undoubtedly be an upgrade there.
His analytics profile is also pretty intriguing. According to gameonpaper, Mateer finished tied for fifth in EPA/Pass and fifth outright total EPA (expected points added) this season. He also finished fifth in the country in success rate with 52.2%. For comparison's sake, Jackson Arnold finished 128th, 126th, and 123rd in the country in those metrics this season.
Now, there will be a large jump in competition from what Mateer played with the Cougars versus what he would play against with the Sooners. However, if we even split the difference between what Mateer and Arnold put out and estimate it in the 60-70 range this season, how much better is OU's 2024 season with a QB whose analytical profile is similar to the likes of Diego Pavia, LaNorris Sellers, Kaidon Salter, and Luke Altmeyer? Presumably next season, their offense won't be missing a dozen players a week with injury either and will be in a much better scheme.
It's hard to overstate how important this pickup is for the Sooners and the program's present and future. Oklahoma lined up a slew of visits to overlap with Mateer's visit, and they are hoping he starts a tidal wave of commitments to the Sooners.
With Mateer having two years of eligibility left, the Sooners' issues under center seem resolved for the foreseeable future.
