Somebody’s going to pay, John Mateer promises. Maybe even all of ‘em.
For the love of all things Oklahoma, pump that Crimson and Cream attitude, that Sooner Magic bravado, deep into the veins of the suddenly stale program.
They’ve hitched their immediate future to this straight-shooting, no frills, uber-talented quarterback with something to prove. To the quarterback no one wanted out of high school, whose football path unceremoniously unfolded from tiny Central Arkansas, to Washington State ― to now you’re all going to pay.
Every last one of you who passed on him.
“I’m from the south, and all of these SEC teams recruit the south,” Mateer told USA TODAY Sports. “So I guess they all passed on me.”
He pauses for a moment, understanding the enormity of the statement and how it will land in an SEC world where it’s not religion, it’s your very existence.
“Even Oklahoma passed on me,” Mateer continues. “So now it’s great. It’s all on the schedule. There’s a couple (teams) here and there that really make me mad. I’m not over it.”
This is the future of Oklahoma football, everyone. It’s equal parts Baker Mayfield and Cam Ward (more on that later), and embattled Sooners coach Brent Venables.
In one season as a starter at Washington State, Mateer threw for 3,139 yards and 29 TDs, and rushed for 826 yards and 15 TDs. No wonder Venables threw a load of NIL money at his spirit animal.
Show change, be change, as Venables likes to preach.
“His intensity, his focus is off the charts,” Venables said.
But this isn’t a story of chasing NIL dollars. Mateer was happy at Washington State, loved his coaches and teammates and the bucolic yet quirky town in Eastern Washington.
He played high school football in Texas against Ashton Jeanty, who like Mateer was ignored by power conference schools until he showed out. He knew Jeanty turned down a large NIL payday to stay at Boise State and build a legacy ― then went out and did it.
It wasn’t easy for Mateer to walk away from the one program that gave him an opportunity to play Bowl Subdivision football, that plucked him from a commitment to Central Arkansas and told him he would sit and learn behind another rags to (money) bags story named Ward.
Mateer waited two seasons, and got his first opportunity to start in 2024. Three months later and after accounting for 44 touchdowns – a bigger and better season than anything Ward produced in Pullman – Cougars coach Jake Dickert knew what was next.
“He’ll be the most sought-after player in the transfer portal,” Dickert said.
It is here where we connect the dots, and explain the subtleties of player procurement in the current environment of college football. Two days after Washington State lost to Wyoming in the season final, Venables hired Cougars offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle.
Two weeks later, Mateer was on the phone with Mayfield trying to make a decision: sign with Oklahoma, or get an early start on learning a pro offense by signing with the guy who has six Super Bowl rings — and just happened to coach the greatest quarterback of all.
While a nice perk, NIL cash had nothing to do with it. The decision came down to what Mateer knew and was comfortable with, and what could be with Bill Belichick at North Carolina.
He got a nudge.
“Baker told me it wasn’t a big problem going from the Air Raid to the pro game. Similar concepts,” Mateer said, and then laughed. “But I’m sure he wasn’t biased at all.”
Not long after that, Mateer was in the football facility at Oklahoma with a group of other first-timers from the transfer portal and early freshmen enrollees. They were going through orientation, and shuffling through stations while the rest of the team had begun offseason training.
When Mateer arrived at Oklahoma, safeties coach Brandon Hall told him a good quarterback gives everyone in the building hope. On the first day of workouts, when Mateer barely knew anyone’s name or story, his new teammates pushed him to the front of the line on the first run.
Show change, be change.
“That meant a lot to me,” Mateer said. “They wanted someone to come in and take charge.”
Want to know why it all fell apart for the Sooners in their first season in the SEC, why only an upset of Alabama in November prevented the worst conference record in nearly 100 years?
Because when Oklahoma moved on from quarterback Dillon Gabriel after the 2023 season – depending on whom you ask, Gabriel was either forced out or left on his own – for hotshot bluechip recruit Jackson Arnold, everything changed.
The offense struggled to score points, and more important, lost its attacking identity. A multitude of injuries didn’t help, but it was clear that Arnold – benched midway through the season – wasn’t the answer.
It took two days for Venables to change course with Arbuckle, who helped Oklahoma land Mateer, who now helps Arbuckle with the offense install during spring practice. And now the Sooners are staring at a Cam Ward-type impact in 2025.
‘It’s not for me to look at this as I’m the savior of a program.” Mateer said. “I don’t get caught up in that. Success is winning games.”
Yeah, well, it doesn’t hurt to prove a point and make others pay along the way. Just ask the last quarterback from Texas who arrived in Norman with a 10-gallon chip on his shoulder.
If it looks like Mayfield and sounds like Mayfield, OU can only hope it plays out like Mayfield.
“Hopefully,” Mateer said, “Everybody will be paying for it.”
Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB.
