Oklahoma Sooners QB John Mateer wasn’t afraid to tell everyone something that needed to be said out loud
The Oklahoma Sooners need the best out of John Mateer this season if they want a chance at winning a National Championship.
The Oklahoma Sooners had some really, really bad football being played on their team last season. But the defensive side of the ball was almost, keyword, never at fault. Now, the offense was pretty much always at fault. And who’s in charge of the offense in terms of the guys out on the field?
John Mateer, the Sooners quarterback last season and this season, was a big reason why the offense was as bad as it was. That, and the running game, in which Mateer led the team in Yards After Contact, with 326. He also led the team in missed tackles forced with 22, among several other basic stats. In the passing game, he just was not accurate. He often made dumb decisions, bad passes, and just didn’t ever look comfortable. So, the fanbase is expecting to see an improvement in his game.
John Mateer talks about his 2026 goals
“Yeah, I think you can think about those, but they don’t really matter to me — and the team definitely comes first, and the guys around me, what these guys around me, what they want matters more,” John Mateer said to reporters at SEC Media Days when asked about what goals he has.
“I’m going to give you that answer. Because that’s what means most. The biggest one has been the completion percentage, moving the ball forward, staying ahead of the chains. That’s one of them. It’s the accuracy, the timing, the decision-making; that’s how that happens.”
Last season, Mateer threw for a 62% completion percentage. That’s putrid, and certainly needs to be improved. And maybe completion percentage goes into another category that needs improvement: Interceptions. He had 11 INTs last season, and only 14 touchdowns. That’s not good at all.
Sure, he had the hand injury. But I think we all know that wasn’t the only reason he was playing badly. He was playing badly because he was in his own head too much, and he had a lot of things to work on. Hopefully we have seen some of those things improve.