Brent Venables has likely uncomfortable conversation at SEC Media Days about attempt to get a 2024 starter back
John Mateer is now the starting quarterback for the Oklahoma Sooners, and if you paid any attention to SEC Media Days on Wednesday, he was one of the more popular people in attendance. I won't say he had the same draw of a crowd as Arch Manning did, but he was easily in second place […]
John Mateer is now the starting quarterback for the Oklahoma Sooners, and if you paid any attention to SEC Media Days on Wednesday, he was one of the more popular people in attendance.
I won't say he had the same draw of a crowd as Arch Manning did, but he was easily in second place if we are handing out awards for how much media one can attract. He's starting to look and feel a bit like a celebrity, and that has to be a good feeling for OU and their fans, especially after last year.
In 2024, the Sooners played two quarterbacks the entire season. In the first few games, it was Jackson Arnold, who inherited the starting spot after Dillon Gabriel, the now Cleveland Browns QB, left for Oregon. Against Tennessee, Arnold was benched, and true freshman Michael Hawkins came in and played well. From there, Hawkins was the starter.
But Arnold played after that. The two came into the season with a pretty good reputation as being good quarterbacks or quarterbacks with potential. While Hawkins may still have that reputation, Arnold doesn't by a lot of people. He transferred to Auburn and is set to be their starter, where he will play the Sooners in Norman with a chance to prove everyone wrong.
Sooners HC Brent Venables wanted Jackson Arnold back
The truth is, the Sooners wanted Arnold to stay. At SEC Media Days on Wednesday, head coach Brent Venables admitted that he tried pretty hard to retain Arnold, but ultimately, there was too much damage that happened, a lot of it out of his control, which made him play the way he did.
“He had no chance in some ways under the circumstances,” Venables said to the media at SEC Media Days when asked about Arnold’s play in 2024.
Some of that is true. At one point, the Sooners were without their best five receivers at the same time. The offensive line struggled and also had injuries. The offensive scheme and play calling were pretty bad, which led to Seth Littrell, the former OC, getting fired. That's a lot happening with the expectation of Arnold still being a good QB.
But some of it was also Arnold. He had a huge fumble issue. He couldn't read defenses very well and threw a few interceptions directly to defenders because of his inability to read a blitz or a certain coverage. And sometimes he was skiddish in the pocket.
But 2024 is behind us. 2025 is almost here, and we will get to see if Auburn, who should be better this year than the Sooners were last year, as far as offense goes, helps Arnold prove that he is a good QB.
