Is John Mateer being written off nationally in 2026?

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Returning Oklahoma Sooners starting quarterback John Mateer was one of the most talked-about quarterbacks in the entire country at this time last year, which was his first at OU. After following offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle to Norman from Washington State, he was hailed as one of the best transfer portal quarterbacks in the nation.

Mateer, who led the FBS in total touchdowns with the Cougars in 2024, proved that hype right through the first month of the season, becoming the Heisman favorite in September, after leading OU to a 4-0 record. Then, disaster struck when Mateer injured his hand in the fourth win, an injury that required thumb surgery.

After missing just one game, Mateer did not have the same level of effectiveness down the stretch of the season. Though the Sooners made the College Football Playoff, they did so with a QB that was clearly not fully healthy, and an offense that had clear limitations. After a loss in the first round of the CFP, Mateer decided to return for his redshirt senior season, and one college football analyst thinks that OU’s quarterback may not be getting the recognition he deserves heading into his final collegiate season.

On3’s J.D. PicKell, who hosts “The Hard Count with J.D. PicKell“, thinks that Mateer got an unfair reputation for the way he performed over his final eight games of last season, and believes that he’ll be back to his September self if he can stay healthy for the Sooners this year.

“I think John Mateer kind of got a bit of a bad rap with how the season ended because, both metaphorically and literally, he kind of soldiered his way through the end of the regular season with how healthy I believe he wasn’t to finish last season,” PicKell said. “You could see it affected his play. He was a very different player from September to the College Football Playoff and I think it slowed him down quite a bit. Nationally, you had a lot of people kind of write John off and say, ‘Well he’s got to get better, he’s got to improve,’ which is I think true for everyone in the world of college football, but there was almost like this condescension speaking about John Mateer at a national level of him not being good enough to get to where Oklahoma wants to be.”

According to PicKell, the feeling inside the Switzer Center about Mateer is much different that the perception that national media may have of him, and it reminds him of Mateer’s head coach, Brent Venables, who had been written off a bit nationally at this time last year.

“Tell you what, the intel internally is they think that dude is special,” PicKell said. “They feel great about John Mateer. So all the national noise, y’all can take that, and run with that, and roll with that. We feel great about our guy. I’m thinking about this in real time. Doesn’t that kind of mirror the conversation around Brent Venables over the last couple of years? … It’s like, okay, all that outside noise, that’s fine. We feel good about our guy. Same thing can be said for John as it was said for Brent Venables going into the season and nobody’s saying that about Brent Venables right now, I don’t think, after a College Football Playoff berth in their second year in the SEC.”

Obviously, Mateer needs to improve as a passer, and he needs to get better at beating teams from the pocket with his arm. Mateer has been vocal already this spring about his quest to improve at “playing quarterback”, and he’s been working hard to make his last season his best yet. However, his ability to bring his athleticism, leadership, and toughness to the table are unquestioned, and they are certainly part of why his teammates and coaches love him.

Mateer is betting on the Sooners, just as much as the Sooners are betting on Mateer. Both parties believe that they are being put in position to succeed by the other, and the Sooners have spent the offseason surrounding Mateer with better talent and focusing on establishing a physical running game that can take some of the pressure off of him. In turn, Mateer has spent the offseason working to improve his game, and make the individual strides needed to lead his team to where they want to go in 2026. With five months remaining until the season-opener, Mateer and the Sooners still have time to grow and develop together, before they start their quest to chase a championship this fall.

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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Is OU’s quarterback being written off by national media in 2026?

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