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John Mateer details how Baker Mayfield recruited him to OU

headshotby:George Stoia•12/23/24•

GeorgeStoia

John Mateer, Washington State
John Mateer, Washington State - © Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images

OU had one final trick up its sleeve to land Washington State transfer quarterback John Mateer — Baker Mayfield.

Mayfield, an all-time Sooners legend who won the Heisman Trophy in 2017, called Mateer during his visit last week, helping Oklahoma close the deal on its future quarterback.

“He just persuaded me that OU was a place to go and that it’s just a great time,” Mateer said on 107.7 The Franchise on Monday. “He told me if I need anything, just hit him up. So if that time comes and I need that question answered, then I’ll just text him…

“He’s a super nice guy. He was super nice on the phone. Him calling me on the phone says a lot about who he is as a person and the humility to help the University of Oklahoma. It feels great. He just told me it was a real family atmosphere and it was the place to be and Coach Venables was doing a great job.”

Mateer committed to Oklahoma a couple of hours later on Dec. 18, thanks to a little from Mayfield. But there were several reasons why Mateer chose the Sooners.

Mainly, his offensive coordinator at Washington State, Ben Arbuckle, is now in Norman too. He was hired as OU’s offensive playcaller on Dec. 3. That made the Sooners the frontrunner for Mateer the moment he got in the portal.

“He’s meant so much my development,” Mateer said of Arbuckle. “You come out of high school, you don’t know anything, right? I was just out there playing ball and just throwing it to whoever I thought was going to be open. Spent that first season with Coach Morris, but then coach Arbuckle, who came in and and he really helped me learn the game of football and just learn the offense and the progressions and the protections, and you can go on and on. I could talk about all that he taught me. 

“You know, we can do anything with this offense. It’s really exciting. And me being having the reins of it, it makes me feel good.”

Mateer is also excited to share a room with true freshman Michael Hawkins Jr., who will start the bowl game for the Sooners.

“He’s a great player,” Mateer said. “Really excited to be able to sit in the room with him. I think it’ll be a great time. And he knows the guys, and I’m really excited to work with him.”

You can listen to Mateer’s full interview with The Franchise here.

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