Sooners QB John Mateer may have the quote of SEC Media Days on day 1, and everyone's going to knock him for what he said

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The Oklahoma Sooners like what they have in quarterback John Mateer, but at SEC Media Days he said something about reading defenses that may have some folks confused.

The Oklahoma Sooners have a big season coming up. They made the College Football Playoff last season, but lost in the first round at home. Their offense, one of the worst in CFB, was a big storyline last year. The defense carried the team majorly.

In 2026, everyone is expecting the offense to step up. Everyone is expecting the Sooners to have a good quarterback. They expected it last season, too. But we all know how that went. Mateer had a hand injury. Now, that’s not the reason he was playing badly. It contributed to it. But there were so many other things at play. Oftentimes head coaches are on the hot seats. This time it felt like Mateer was. And what he said at SEC Media Days on Monday makes it even worse.

Sooners QB John Mateer talks reading defenses in the SEC

“There’s not really any time to think. If someone is open, you just throw it to them,” Mateer told reporters at SEC Media Days

Now, you get what he’s trying to say. But there’s a way to go about it. Yes, when the ball is snapped, it’s hard to read a defense in that moment. The quarterback has so many things going on at once. They have to see where the blitzers are coming from, while also watching every receiver, every read in the progressive order they’re supposed to.

Then, they have to avoid 300-pound men tackling them, all while looking over a wall of ten players or so that’s much taller than they are. The job is not easy in the slightest. But the way he said this makes it seem like he doesn’t do anything at all; he just throws the ball to the first guy that he sees who’s open.

And that’s just not the case. There has to be some sort of reading of the defense pre-snap. If there’s not, the guy won’t make it as a quarterback, ever. Mateer is very talented. He can run the ball; he makes some pretty crazy throws at times. But the mental side of things needs improvement, along with some of the footwork. He’s worked hard this offseason, so we should soon know whether last season was a fluke.

This article was originally published on A to Z Sports. Read the full story here: Sooners QB John Mateer may have the quote of SEC Media Days on day 1, and everyone’s going to knock him for what he said

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