Oklahoma Sooners aggressive moves in the transfer portal means there’s no more excuses for John Mateer in 2026
John Mateer has no more excuses for poor play heading into the 2026 season with the Oklahoma Sooners.
The Oklahoma Sooners have made a whole slew of moves in the transfer portal in Jim Nagy’s first full portal cycle as general manager. Everyone in Norman knew that the offense simply had to be better than it was in 2025, and it’s safe to say they understood the assignment with their additions in the portal (more on that later).
With all of these aggressive moves out of the portal, one thing was abundantly clear: the Sooners weren’t going to stand for another season of mediocrity on offense. They could partially blame some of their struggles this season on personnel or the Mateer injury, but heading into next season, Oklahoma, Brent Venables, and Jim Nagy have made it clear: there are no more excuses for John Mateer to not deliver next season.
2026 is put up or shut up time for John Mateer
Last season, I thought there were definitely moments where Oklahoma’s personnel simply wasn’t good enough consistently to open things up in the SEC. Teams often stacked the line of scrimmage and lined up in single-high coverages and simply dared the Sooners to throw them out of those looks. On several looks, Deion Burks or Isaiah Sategna would draw a bracket, and the rest of the offense wasn’t generating enough separation to make it work.
However, more often than not, it was simply Mateer not delivering. Whether he was locked onto his first read, not making the progression, making a poor decision with the ball, bailing from the pocket, or flat out missing the throw, the passing offense looked like a mess, and that in turn affected Oklahoma’s ability to run the ball. It was a snowball combination of all sorts of issues.
For next season, however, Mateer will no longer have any excuses for his poor play, and it’s because of the Sooners’ actions out of the transfer portal.
Oklahoma Sooners radically change offense through transfer portal
The Sooners clearly recognized their personnel deficiencies from last season at the skill positions. At wide receiver, they added Trell Harris, a tremendous vertical threat with top-notch route running and strong hands at the catch point, and followed it up with adding Parker Livingstone, another explosive vertical threat. Try playing single-high with those two alongside Isaiah Sategna.
At tight end, Oklahoma completely overhauled the room, adding Hayden Hansen, Rocky Beers, and Jack Van Desolaer. Evidently, they were tired of watching their tight ends get blocked into rushing lanes every drive, and stocked up on tight ends who could block and catch. Upgrades people, upgrades.
On the offensive line, the Sooners have their starting five in left tackle Michael Fasusi, left guard Eddy Pierre-Louis, center Jake Maikkula, right guard Heath Ozaeta, and right tackle Ryan Fodje. That starting group is locked in, and Oklahoma has added competitive depth with Caleb Nitta, E’Marion Harris, Peyton Joseph, and could still add another tackle for depth here. That unit, when together last season, was inarguably Oklahoma’s most talented offensive line in years. This is the first time the Sooners will have this much continuity up front since going from 2017 to 2018.
With all of this around Mateer from both the returning starters and the newest additions, the Sooners are returning a roster primed to compete for a national championship run. There’s no more excuses for Mateer’s play from last year. It’s put up or shut up time. This could be the most consequential offseason the Sooners have had in years.
If Mateer turns that corner in his development, like what we saw against Alabama in the CFP, Oklahoma is going to be right in the running to compete for a championship.
Oklahoma Sooners News
Oklahoma Sooners leaving no stone unturned with small-school transfer prospect who could be a sneaky strong addition to shore up defense
The Oklahoma Sooners are setting up a visit with a small-school defensive back to reinforce the depth in their secondary.
