What ESPN expects from Oklahoma QB John Mateer in 2025

What ESPN expects from Oklahoma QB John Mateer in 2025
The Oklahoma Sooners made the biggest splash of the offseason when they brought in John Mateer in December. The nation's leader in total touchdowns had a strong first season as a starter at Washington State and followed offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle to Norman.
The two should help Oklahoma's offense be much better in 2025 than they were a year ago and for the Oklahoma Sooners to contend for a playoff spot, the offense will have to be respectable. During SEC play a season ago, the Sooners offense averaged just 13 points per game when you remove defensive touchdowns. That didn't cut it by a long shot and Oklahoma made necessary changes to rectify the situation.
But what can we expect from Mateer in a Sooners uniform? ESPN's Billy Tucker picked the top newcomer for each team in ESPN's top 25 and what we should expect this season.
Mateer will light up SEC scoreboards in 2025 and Oklahoma should bounce back. With weapons around him at wide receiver and a healthy Jaydn Ott to relieve some early-down pressure in the backfield, the offense should come out of the gate fast, particularly with Mateer's confidence and familiarity with the system. He's a quick-release rhythm passer who will spread the ball out decisively and accurately underneath and win on his strikes downfield. Mateer can run, too, which will complement this version of the Air Raid pass-heavy offense. The Sooners have much more depth up front to keep him upright, but Mateer will show more natural playmaking ability to extend plays and get out of trouble than Arnold did a season ago. - Tucker, ESPN
The Oklahoma Sooners offense will be really good this season. How good? That will depend a lot on the offensive line, a unit that had arguably its worst season in the Bill Bedenbaugh era due to injuries and inexperience. But having an experienced signal caller in an offense he's familiar with will help everyone from the offensive line to the wide receivers to the running backs.
If Mateer can even produce 75% of his 40 total touchdowns from a season ago, that would put him among the SEC leaders from 2024. Jalen Milroe led the SEC in total touchdowns last season with 36 (including 20 rushing touchdowns).
With the additions the Sooners made on offense and the continued development of Brent Venables' defense, Mateer doesn't have to have a super human Heisman season for the Sooners to significantly improve their win total. He and the offense simply have to compliment what Oklahoma's going to do on the defensive side of the ball.
However, with Mateer, Oklahoma has a chance to have one of the best offenses in college football in 2025.
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on X @john9williams.

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All the work they had done, the hours they put in, the moments they seized, it prepared them for this one. "I think that's the deal," said Daigneault. "You want to be prepared. You certainly want to learn the lessons, get the game plan into the game, but not at the expense of aggressiveness, confidence, instincts. That has been a strength of ours this season. We certainly have to lean on that. We have to understand the work is done, and we have to trust the work. The muscle is built. We have to flex that muscle." So, when the pressure reached its apex, when they needed most to be present, when the score was deadlocked, 56-56, midway through Game 7's third quarter, they flexed. They called on every possession they stacked, every rep they attacked. At that very moment, SGA, Holmgren and Williams connected on consecutive 3-pointers, turning a tie game into a comfortable advantage. From there, the team relied on its defense — the muscle it had worked so hard to build over time — to carry them to the championship. Advertisement "You've got to have those themes," Daigneault said of his team's mantra. "This team responds well to those things. If you put the right thing in front of them, they really take to it. I think that's the right way to approach competition. But these guys bring it to life with the way they play. You can talk about it all you want, but it comes down to how you perform. These guys perform like competitive monsters." When the moment called for it, they were present as themselves, calloused as champions. "Winning is what's remembered," added Holmgren. "It's what's immortal. I'm just so happy we were able to do it. There was so much hard work that a lot of people don't see that went into this. Years of hard work for everybody that led to this. It makes it all worthwhile. It makes it all — it's just a great feeling." Be where your feet are. 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