John Mateer is already showing that he can do what Jackson Arnold and Michael Hawkins couldn't do at Oklahoma
Last season, there was virtually no offense from the Oklahoma Sooners, a football program that has historically been elite on that side of the ball. They were the worst offense in the SEC, and maybe the worst in Power Four football. Yet, somehow they made a bowl game off the strength of their defense alone. […]
Last season, there was virtually no offense from the Oklahoma Sooners, a football program that has historically been elite on that side of the ball. They were the worst offense in the SEC, and maybe the worst in Power Four football.
Yet, somehow they made a bowl game off the strength of their defense alone. The offense was so bad last season, and a large reason why was because of all of the injuries they had. At one point, the Sooners were without their five best wide receivers, and their offensive line dealt with a ton of injuries as well. And all of these things caused the quarterback's play to be bad as well.
So, Jackson Arnold, the starting quarterback, transferred to Auburn. Michael Hawkins, who also played some important snaps and even started a few games, decided to stay. Arnold just couldn't get anything going, and whether it was his fault or not, he had his moments where he played badly. And, he failed time and time again to get Deion Burks involved in the offense when Burks did play.
Of course, there's Week 1 when Burks caught the three touchdowns, but other than that, his best weapon in Deion Burks, who, yes, only played five games, wasn't able to get anything going. The two QBs didn't really make targeting him a priority when he played, and it shows in the stats.
In five games, he averaged 7.9 yards per reception and 49 yards per game. That has to be up in 2025. He's too good a playmaker for it to be under 50, and under 10 yards per reception.
We haven't seen Oklahoma play a game yet, and we won't for some time. However, in the spring practice that Oklahoma put on for the media, we saw a lot of John Mateer and Deion Burks. And, man, did the offense look good against an elite defense.
It would appear that Mateer is already doing what the other two couldn't.
2026 four-star defender reveals a cool connection to the Oklahoma Sooners after receiving an offer
That could really help the Sooners.
