Brent Venables reveals how he helps Oklahoma QB John Mateer

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The Oklahoma Sooners and head coach Brent Venables are taking a creative approach to help quarterback John Mateer reach his full potential. Mateer has all of the physical tools to be one of the best quarterbacks in college football, but he struggled with some of the mental aspects of playing the position.

Mateer struggled with reading defenses last season and admitted during the year that he was having trouble seeing the field clearly. On top of that, he had a thumb injury on his throwing hand, which affected his grip and the way he threw the football.

Mateer naturally has more of a sidearm delivery, but the thumb injury forced him to adjust his grip and hold the football differently. That affected his accuracy, which likely also affected his confidence.

So, when he elected to stay in Norman for another season, Venables wanted to find ways to get the most out of Mateer's ability. That started with watching film together, and giving him the defense's viewpoint.

“I try to give him the defensive lens,” Venables told George Stoia at SoonerScoop. “I study offenses a lot more than I study defenses, and have forever. So I’m giving them a defensive lens: what are the things that you can see? A lot of it is things he’s already heard from his offensive coaches. So I don’t want to say what I’m telling him is something completely new and foreign to him.”

Venables has spent decades studying how to stop elite offenses, and that knowledge gives him a unique perspective to share with Mateer. Understanding what defenses are trying to accomplish could help the quarterback recognize coverages faster and avoid some of the mistakes that hurt him last season.

If Mateer can combine his physical talent with a stronger understanding of the game, Oklahoma could have one of the most dangerous quarterbacks in the country.

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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Brent Venables reveals how he helps Oklahoma QB John Mateer

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