By Adeniyi Precious 
When Ben Arbuckle, the former Washington State offensive coordinator, took the job at Oklahoma, fans were hoping that quarterback John Mateer would follow him to Norman. It didn’t happen right away, though. Mateer didn’t immediately hit the transfer portal, but once he did, he quickly became the top player available.
Oklahoma wasn’t the only team after him. Miami, North Carolina, and even UNC’s new head coach Bill Belichick got in the mix. It seemed like a done deal for OU, but things got interesting. The former Wazzu quarterback visited OU but didn’t commit right away. That led to more speculation that he was still talking with Miami and UNC. Reports even said NFL legends Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski reached out to Mateer, trying to convince him to choose UNC. His former teammate Cam Ward, who transferred to Miami, also tried to get him to join the Hurricanes.
In the end, it was a conversation with former Oklahoma quarterback and Heisman winner Baker Mayfield that sealed the deal for Mateer. So now, Mateer’s heading to OU, and Sooner fans are hoping he can help turn around an offense that struggled last season.
The good news is that Mateer and offensive coordinator Arbuckle already have chemistry, having worked together at Washington State. The quarterback comes in with high expectations after a strong 2024 season—he threw for over 3,100 yards, 29 touchdowns, and ran for 826 more yards and 15 touchdowns. While those numbers came against less intimidating defenses than in the SEC, they’re still pretty impressive.
But let’s not forget, Oklahoma has had high hopes for quarterbacks before—like Jackson Arnold, the former five-star prospect who had a tough season in 2024. There were a lot of issues around him—bad offensive line play, a lack of experience at wide receiver, and no true star running back. All of this made it hard for Arnold to succeed, no matter how talented he was.
OU’s staff is working hard to fix these problems, and bringing in Arbuckle and Mateer is a big part of that. The offensive line is expected to improve with some transfers and incoming recruits like five-star Michael Fasusi. The team also added several wide receivers and is bringing back some injured players like Deion Burks and Jayden Gibson. Plus, they’ve got solid depth at running back, but they’ll need someone to step up in 2025.
The bottom line? Mateer could be the solution at quarterback for Oklahoma, but he’s not a one-man show. The rest of the offense needs to step up, too. If everything falls into place, he could help OU get back to being a powerhouse on offense, but if not, it might not matter who’s playing quarterback.