There was something off about John Mateer’s arm angles in the latter half of last season. But again, who could blame a QB nursing a broken thumb? That was why he returned to Oklahoma despite being draft-eligible. That’s still a win for the Sooners. And to fans’ relief, Wednesday’s spring ball brought a promising update as the 21-year-old gave a thumbs-up to his thumb. 

“My thumb’s getting a little healthier so I can grip the ball better,” John Mateer told reporters after spring practice. “So yeah, getting back to some more over-the-top stuff, less sidearm. That all plays in with the thumb, and I’m not making an excuse, but that’s the truth.”

John Mateer is letting fans in on what was really happening behind the scenes. And it all goes back to one moment when he broke his right thumb against Auburn on September 20. 17 days later, he was back on the field, but that injury changed his early over-the-top performance into a sidearm-heavy strategy for survival. 

“I had to adapt a little bit,” he added. “But yeah, I looked at some old videos, and it’s more closer to the ears. My dad always told me to keep the ball closer to my ear. That was like really young, but same.”

John Mateer began last season on a 4-0 note that put him among the NFL draft conversations. But his thumb injury changed his course, as he averaged just 192 passing yards in his final three games compared to his initial 304 yards per game. Over the final eight games, he went 1,670 yards with eight TDs and eight interceptions. Even his completion rate dropped to 59.4%. 

The lowest point came in the CFP game against Alabama, where his pick-six flipped momentum in a 34-24 loss. Still, John Mateer refused to let his thumb injury take center stage. 

“It’s definitely not my thumb, I can tell you that,” he said back in October. “I’ll stand by that. There are just ups and downs in the flow of the game, I think, and I’m a human. I’m not perfect, so there are good times, there are bad times.”

Now, he’s back in Norman to correct what went wrong in 2025. John Mateer spent the offseason diving into tape, cleaning up mechanics, and rewiring how he sees the game. And now, even defensive genius head coach Brent Venables is involved in developing his QB. 

John Mateer is getting help from everywhere 

After taking over defensive play-calling duties again, Brent Venables helped elevate Oklahoma to a top-10 defense nationally. And now, he’s with John Mateer in the film room, teaching him how defenses perform so that he can prepare better against them.  

“Just being able to recognize things quicker,” he said. “The more you see it, the more football you watch, you get more familiar with things. You can spot them quicker and see the leverage quicker.”

John Mateer feels blessed to be at Oklahoma, but leaving really wasn’t an option. 

“In the end, it was pretty obvious,” he said. “I need to be better, need to come back and develop another year, and this place is awesome.”

He’s got familiar weapons around him, growing chemistry with WR targets like Parker Livingstone and Rocky Beers. More importantly, he knows exactly where he fell short.

“Being a year older, I learned a lot,” he said. “I look back to last year, and I’m like, ‘Well, I’m way better than I was.’ It’s a lot of fun.”

Now, with a healthier thumb, refined mechanics, and a deeper understanding of defenses, John Mateer walks into 2026 with confidence.