New Oklahoma Sooners quarterback John Mateer enters the 2025 season with plenty of weight on his shoulders. After all, he's the new starting quarterback at a school that has had four Heisman Trophy winners under center (Jason White, Sam Bradford, Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray) and two Heisman runners-up (Josh Heupel and Jalen Hurts). And that's just since 1999.
Sooner Nation is hoping Mateer is the latest in a long line of superstar quarterbacks to don the crimson and cream. After a dismal 6-7 season in 2024, OU is looking to get back to the standard at the quarterback position to help right the ship this season. While not the only factor, the play of Oklahoma's QBs, namely Jackson Arnold, played a role in the demise of the Sooner offense and, ultimately, the season.
With Arnold moving on to Auburn via the transfer portal, Oklahoma dipped into the portal themselves to land the top overall player in Mateer. The former Washington State Cougars' arrival in Norman reunites him with offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle, who helped Mateer lead the FBS in total touchdowns a season ago.
While the jump up in competition to the SEC will be steep for both, there's plenty of potential for Mateer's leadership abilities and talent to shine in college football's toughest conference. His experience with Arbuckle and his Air Raid system will help aid in that transition as well.
In fact, a pair of college football analysts for On3 Sports believe that Mateer is in for a big season in Norman. Andy Staples and Ari Wasserman ranked their Top 10 quarterbacks for the 2025 season on their "Andy and Ari On3" podcast. Both had him in the top 10, with Staples ranking him at No. 6 and Wasserman ranking him at No. 4. Wasserman, in particular, is very high on the new guy taking the snaps at Oklahoma.
"I've spent a lot of time in the last month going back and re-watching his games and re-watching his clips," Wasserman said. "This guy is unbelievable ... There is a legitimate chance that this is the guy holding up the Heisman at the end of the year. And I don't say that lightly. There is a legitimate chance that Oklahoma is a playoff team because of this guy next year ... I almost put him in the top three, I almost put him in the top two. I didn't want South Carolina fans to think I hate them because I'm tired of it, but like John Mateer has No. 1 overall player in the sport ceiling. Am I nuts?"
Staples didn't have quite the same enthusiasm that Wasserman did, but both seem to think the Sooners will be an improved team this year.
"You're not nuts," Staples said. "Oklahoma making the playoffs a little tough. We're going to need to see massive improvement from the offensive line to get there."
"I think their defense is going to be really good, because it's always good," Wasserman added. "I think their receivers aren't going to be decimated."
It'll take more than just Mateer's excellence for the 2025 Sooners to get where they need and want to go. But OU fans know better than just about every other fanbase in college football that having a game-changer playing quarterback makes winning games a whole lot easier. Oklahoma is hoping they're getting back to that QB standard with John Mateer under center.
Here's just a sampling of what we could be in store for from John Mateer in 2025. Mateer makes an off-balance throw into the end zone to Deion Burks.
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