Washington State's John Mateer commits to OU
OU has its starting quarterback for 2025. Washington State transfer John Mateer has committed to the Sooners, he announced on Wednesday.
Mateer officially entered the transfer portal on Monday, Dec. 16. And Oklahoma was immediately considered the favorite to land him, due to his connection to new offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle, who was Mateer’s playcaller the past two seasons. The Sooners also put together an attractive NIL offer for Mateer, who didn’t take any other visits. Mateer was on campus on Wednesday, with OU closing the deal in Norman.
He was spectacular for the Cougars this season, totaling 3,139 yards, 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions through the air. He also ran for 826 yards and 15 touchdowns. That’s why he was widely considered the best quarterback in the portal this winter.
Several teams wanted to get in the mix for Mateer, most notably Miami. The Hurricanes had a major NIL deal prepared for Mateer, hoping to convince him to visit. They hoped to sell him on replicating Cam Ward’s success this season in Miami. But Mateer never made that trip, committing to Oklahoma on Wednesday.
Washington State also tried its best to hold onto Mateer, offering him a seven-figure deal to keep him.
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“I met with John last night. He came back from his sister’s graduation. Had a lot of good family time. He has to make a big decision for his life,” Washington State coach Jake Dickert said on Monday. “John will be the most sought-after player in the portal. I think he’s going to be the best player in the country next year. He informed us that he is, in fact, going to hit the portal… At the end of the day, he wanted to play on a bigger stage, and I think that was the main cause of most of this.”
Mateer will have that big stage with the Sooners.
OU desperately needed Mateer, coming off a 6-6 season in which it had a quarterback controversy. Jackson Arnold and Michael Hawkins Jr. started and got benched this past season. Arnold has since transferred to Auburn and Hawkins has announced his intentions to stay in Norman.
Landing Mateer gives Oklahoma some much-needed momentum heading into the offseason and in the transfer portal. The Sooners also landed transfer receivers Javonnie Gibson from Arkansas Pine-Bluff and Keontez Lewis from Southern Illinois on Wednesday, which isn’t a coincidence.
With Mateer now in the boat, OU looks like to make some major moves in the portal in what will be a pivotal offseason for Brent Venables and company.
