Potential early Christmas gift for Oklahoma Sooners at critical position enters the transfer portal
The smoke surrounding Oklahoma's future quarterback just became a lot clearer, as their potential new starting quarterback officially entered the transfer portal today. According to CBS News, Washington State quarterback John Mateer is expected to enter the portal. Of course, this is where new Oklahoma offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle coached last season. A reunion has […]
The smoke surrounding Oklahoma's future quarterback just became a lot clearer, as their potential new starting quarterback officially entered the transfer portal today.
According to CBS News, Washington State quarterback John Mateer is expected to enter the portal. Of course, this is where new Oklahoma offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle coached last season. A reunion has been rumored for quite a while and seems inevitable now. OUInsider has claimed Mateer is expected to enter with a no-contact tag.
Of course, Oklahoma desperately needs a quarterback. Starting quarterback Jackson Arnold entered the transfer portal, and Casey Thompson will graduate, leaving just freshmen Michael Hawkins Jr. and Brendan Zurbrugg on the roster. With the offense needing to rebound from a disappointing 2024 season, it shouldn't be a surprise the Sooners will want an experienced quarterback. His familiarity with Arbuckle's scheme is 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 no doubt 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 a 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.
Mateer has his fair share of question marks on film, to be clear, and I'm not convinced he's the best quarterback who will enter the transfer portal this offseason. However, I won't be shocked if he quickly commits to Oklahoma.
