When Sooners made that SEC jump in 2024, they thought the SEC was going to elevate Oklahoma. Turns out, it grabbed them by the ankles and slammed them through a folding table like prime WWE. Their 6-7 record looked like an identity crisis, but just when everyone was counting them out, HC Brent Venables found his savior in 21-year-old John Mateer.

Let’s not act like Venables didn’t see the dumpster fire. His 2024 defense? Rock solid. Only allowed 21 points a game. Respect. But that offense? It was historically bad. So Venables hit the eject button on Seth Littrell mid-season and started plotting. In December, he brought in Ben Arbuckle, Mateer’s OC from WSU. Then brought the dual-threat John Mateer—the same QB who led the entire country in total touchdowns. Last season, as Washington State’s breakout QB1, he ran the show with his 3,139 passing yards and 29 TDs.

From day one, Mateer had folks talking, torching Portland State for 352 yards and five tuddies, plus a 40-yard scamper to the house. We have also seen his talents against Texas Tech, San Jose State, and Hawaii. Now, Brent Venables expects a similar display of effort from him for the Sooners. The coach finally broke his silence on him during SEC meetings in Destin and said:

“John is incredibly talented, but some of his best talents are leadership. He’s got tremendous football IQ, and there’s no limits on him mentally or physically He’s got great arm talent, but he’s a guy that’s going to show up early, going to stay late, got great humility.

“Came to Oklahoma to be a part of the great lineage at Oklahoma. He’ll be the first to tell you, and he knows it, he’s gotta get better. He’s got a lot of development still in front of him. So he’s great humility, he’s put his head down. All he’s done since he’s gotten here is work, and he’s elevated everybody around him by how he does what he does. He’s honest, he’s transparent, easy to connect to. People relate to him. He’s got great great depth to him.” 

Sure, leading during practices and in meetings is important, but Mateer understands that the true work will come during summer when coaches are typically not as involved and the players have to depend on each other for development before fall camp. The head coach reinforced this last month. “When the coaches aren’t there, if everybody wants to goof off and the leaders want to goof off, you’re not going to get anything out of practice.” Hence, they are building culture, structure, and leadership ahead of summer, a period that is vital to the team.

As for Venables, the upcoming season could give him the opportunity to improve his stock. After all, he has made some significant changes:

1. He will go back to handle the defense play-calling while Ben Arbuckle will look at the offense.
2. He has John Mateer in Norman.
3. The Sooners also signed several wide receiver transfers to help navigate the position, which is riddled by injuries and portal exits.

Venables believes that calling the defense will turn out to be good simply because that’s something he is great at. He also lauded his staff, and so, he will have a lot more help in the upcoming season.

GM Jim Nagy to do everything for John Mateer’s success!

Jim Nagy saw the vision early. Matter of fact, he had to. When you’ve got a quarterback like Mateer, you don’t just depend on talent. You have to nurture the talent. That’s exactly what Nagy is doing along with the coach. They brought in WRs Isaiah Sategna and JaVonnie Gibson. Both receivers pulled up to Norman like they had something to prove. Sategna came over from Arkansas with 491 receiving yards and a rep as a route technician.

Gibson? Came from Arkansas-Pine Bluff. When asked how the new guys were clicking, Mateer didn’t flinch: “They’ve been doing a really good job… It’s not perfect on day one… but we been talking, getting to know each other.” That’s how you build a unit. Not off highlight reels—but real chemistry.

But Nagy wasn’t done. He reached into the transfer portal and came back with Jaydn Ott—a certified Pac-12 beast. Ott led the entire conference in rushing back in 2023 with 1,315 yards. Injury slowed him in ‘24, but when healthy, he can really deliver. Throw him behind an improved offensive line, and suddenly this offense doesn’t look so helpless. One insider, Jay Smith, even said, “If Mateer and Jaydn Ott and this offensive line are now healthy and actually has a two-deep, they show up—we’re good.”

That’s not just wishful thinking. The Sooners were already solid in the trenches. Now? They’ve got real depth. And Arbuckle knows how to spread defenses out and play fast. His offense at Wazzu turned heads because it kept defensive coordinators up at night. And Mateer? He’s the exact kind of QB who thrives in that chaos. Can throw off-platform, can improvise, and isn’t scared to take off when the pocket collapses. When you pair that with actual playmakers, this isn’t the 2024 Sooners anymore.

But let’s not act like the haters are gone. The SEC schedule didn’t come with training wheels. Alabama, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Texas, LSU—you name it. Oklahoma’s catching smoke from all directions. But here’s the twist: this might actually help them. If Mateer balls out in this gauntlet, he would catch the attention of NFL scouts.

So what does 2025 really look like for Mateer and the Sooners? It’s a high-risk, high-reward situation. What do you think?