Oklahoma Sooners QB John Mateer explained after the 2026 spring game how everyone can expect to see a different version of him this season
The Oklahoma Sooners have a ton of faith in quarterback John Mateer to lead them to where they need to go.
2026 promises to be an exciting season for the Oklahoma Sooners, who are projected as National Championship contenders. Quarterback John Mateer is expected to emerge as a more refined version of himself. At least, that’s the prevailing narrative.
“Hanging out in the pocket, getting through my progression, pocket movement better, and just being able to put the ball where I want to. See the game with more anticipation and more knowledge pre-snap,” Mateer said when asked how he’s a different QB now than last year.
John Mateer had things to fix for 2026
If Mateer is doing those things now, he is undoubtedly a better QB, since some of the issues were legit last season. The Sooners nearly lost several games because of Mateer. Their win against the LSU Tigers was among the ugliest of the year and could have easily been a loss. Texas’ win was widely attributed to him. He turned the ball over way too often, and he was just never comfortable in the pocket.
But with all that said, he does need some help. Mateer should never look or feel like he’s having to do it all. That’s just not the kind of quarterback he is, and we found that out early last season. He needs a run game from the RBs. When that run game gets fixed, it could open up another aspect of his game.
He also helped win games, such as against Auburn. There were highs, but for a 10-win team, too many lows. The Sooners want to change that in 2026. Mateer must improve—and he knows it.
Mateer certainly has to improve on some of those instinct things, along with the footwork stuff. We saw way too many times last year that Mateer made a bad read, the wrong throw, or, for some reason, jumped for no reason. If the issues we saw last year are somewhat fixed, we could see an elite version of Mateer.
