The Oklahoma Sooners made one of college football’s most significant transfer portal acquisitions of the entire offseason when they signed former Washington State QB John Mateer. Since then, Mateer has earned his fair share of offseason hype and scrutiny. But with two weeks remaining until his OU debut, there’s both hope and intrigue surrounding the new starter under center in Norman.
In the snake pit that is the SEC, there are always question marks surrounding the quarterback position, especially for a starter who is new to the conference.
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Chris Low, who covers college football for ESPN, put together his biggest questions for each projected SEC starting quarterback heading into the 2025 season. For Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer, his familiarity with Ben Arbuckle’s offense and coming off a productive season in 2024 for Washington State, make him one of the more intriguing and dynamic passers in the SEC despite the jump in competition.
On the field, he’s different than the typical transfer quarterback being plugged into a new system because his offensive coordinator at Washington State, Ben Arbuckle, came with him. It’s imperative that the Sooners play well around Mateer and that they protect him better than they protected the quarterback this past season. They allowed 50 sacks, which was tied for the most in the country. – Low, ESPN.
Mateer has been in the spotlight plenty this offseason, as one of the projected top-tier quarterbacks in America this year. He was chosen to represent the Sooners at SEC Media Days and is already one of the trusted leaders in the locker room, despite only being on campus for a few months.
Moving to the SEC from WSU will be a big jump in competition for Mateer. However, he’s reiterated time and time again this offseason that he believes in the hard work he’s done over the course of his career and that he also believes in the lessons he learned in 2024 as a first-time starter.
Oklahoma’s hopes rest squarely on Mateer’s broad shoulders heading into this fall. We’re about to find out if he has the goods that Sooner Nation hopes he brought with him from Pullman.
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Oklahoma Sooners John Mateer the most intriguing player in the SEC
