They said that John Mateer stepped into a hot coal in Oklahoma. The reason? Thanks to Brent Venables’ former quarterback, Jackson Arnold. While the quarterback came up with 1,421 yards along with 12 touchdowns, his sack record was disastrous. Mateer’s predecessor was sacked 34 times last season in Venables’ squad. But instead of panic, Mateer is getting enough reasons to feel motivated.

Yes, there are doubts. For instance, as George Stoia pointed out on That SEC Football podcast, “Let’s be real. He was at Washington State. He didn’t play the competition he’s going to play in the SEC now.” On the other hand, RJ Young added onto the Mateer doubts, “A lot of people comparing John Mateer to Baker Mayfield, which is okay, cool, I get it. He’s a better runner than Baker Mayfield was, but I don’t know that he’s a better passer.” But here comes someone who is already sold to the Mateer buzz. That’s none other than Chris Doering.

On the July 28th episode of the SEC ESPN Network podcast, the former second-team All-American and Florida player sang highly in Mateer’s praise. He shared, “I’m high on him for a number of different reasons. This guy’s got amazing athletic ability. He’s comfortable in the offense; he has already been running at Washington State with Ben Arbuckle, as the two come over to Norman together. But I look at his arm strength and the ability to move outside of the pocket and make plays when things break down.” The Oklahoma quarterback is at his best operating in chaos outside the pocket. Mateer threw for 3,139 yards, 29 touchdowns, and seven interceptions while completing just under 65% of his throws. And when it comes to the quarterback’s run game, no one should take underestimate him. 

He went 826 yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground with Washington State. Doering just did not dish out a good review about Mateer. He dug through some old tapes and played Washington State vs Utah State highlights from last season. Doering then pointed out, “Everybody knows he can run the football. So, what do defenses have to do? They have to play vision coverage. Look at all those guys playing zone with their eyes on the quarterback. The defensive end is not letting him get outside. John Mateer does a great job in scrambling to throw, keeping his eyes down the field.” It’s indeed an uncommon sight for a quarterback to bounce off 265-pound defensive linemen. But Mateer did it during their face-off against Utah State. 

During the same game, the quarterback completed 18 of 24 passes for 179 yards without an interception and also ran for 55 yards on 13 attempts. And after going through the tapes, Doering jumped to a conclusion about Mateer. He said, “I think this guy is going to be the SEC Player of the Year. I also think he’s going to win the Heisman Trophy.” Now, does that mean Mateer is the one who will be carrying the Sooners’ legacy? 

John Mateer’s hype heats up amidst seven-year Heisman drought

By now, Mateer has become used to getting positive reviews. But you know what feels even better? Getting positive feedback from another head coach. This time, Wake Forest head coach Jake Dickert signed up for Team John Mateer. On The Saturday Down South Show with Connor O’Gara podcast, Dickert came with a heartfelt note, “John Mateer is the best player in college football.” The coach was able to find a stark similarity between Mateer, Cam Ward, and Josh Allen. 

“The biggest thing with all three of those guys is the competitive nature and the approach with which they bring it to every day and how they’ve gotten not just an offense but a whole locker room of people to go out there and play for them,” shared Dickert. As Mateer steps into Oklahoma, he got lucky to have his old connection by his side, Ben Arbuckle. The duo led the WSU offense, ranked sixth in points scored per game in 2024 (36.6) and 17th in total yards per game (442.8).

Oklahoma Sooners insider, Josh Callaway, has already come up with some good grades for John Mateer in the Cover 3 Podcast. He said, “I mean so far A+ for John Mateer in particular. Ben Arbuckle, too. But John Mateer, in particular, he’s got the fan base fired up.” After all, the young chap has carried with himself an impressive resume. Back at Washington State, as a redshirt sophomore, he earned an offensive grade of 83.4. His rushing grade (86.2) was fourth among all NCAA Division I FBS quarterbacks. Meanwhile, Oklahoma is no stranger to Heisman Trophy winners. Between 1950 to 2018, they had seven winners. Can Mateer break the seven-year drought after Kyler Murray?