John Mateer has a point to prove in the SEC. Coming out of high school, nobody wanted him from south’s power conferences. His path instead nearly took him to Arkansas before he ended up in Washington. The quarterback served as a spark plug for WSU’s postseason prominence, before other programs took notice. Miami was interested in him and was looking to follow in Cam Ward’s success from Washington. Bill Belichick wanted him at UNC. But a call with former Sooners QB Baker Mayfield turned the tide, and Brent Venables threw a load of NIL money to get him to Oklahoma. Now, the analysts have already put him on the top SEC QB lists, and he is even gaining early Heisman hype. But Mateer has one thing on his mind: to make his detractors pay.

There is a huge chance that Mateer’s excellence from Washington State can translate over with the right offensive scheme. He might be a newbie to the Sooners’ offensive line, but Mateer’s deep ties with coach Ben Arbuckle seem to be a strong X factor in his potential success at Norman. He is well placed to be the future of Oklahoma football. The program built a solid defense but dealt with injuries and inexperience in the offense, but with the addition of Arbuckle and Mateer, that could change. But those plans might have hit a road bump.

Ari Wasserman of On3 has spent a lot of time watching Mateer’s films and dubbed him the best physical quarterback at the cheapest price in the portal. He believes that he can be the guy steering the Sooners to the playoffs this year. But his colleague Andy Staples raised an alarm over a recent injury situation at the Sooners.

Speaking on Andy and Ari, on April 9, Staples pointed out, “Well, their receivers are, it’s, I’m a little worried about that piece of it, dude. Well, Javonnie Gibson, who is going to be their biggest transfer pickup, it looks like he’s suffered an injury recently, and I just, I’m worried. I’m worried they just may be snake bitten at this point.”

After being decimated with injuries last season, they would have hoped for better luck this time, but their wide receiver room is again facing a crisis. Transfer Javonnie Gibson had been turning heads throughout spring practice, generating significant buzz about his breakout potential this season. However, his momentum came to a halt after he suffered a serious lower leg injury during Monday’s practice.

This comes on the heels of the receiving room being jolted with Arkansas transfer Isaiah Sategna recently going down with an injury, and Southern Illinois transfer Keontez Lewis has been sidelined for the past month with an issue that has kept him out of action. While neither injury appears to be long-term, both represent meaningful setbacks for their development and preparation.

Adding to the growing list of concerns, Jayden Gibson also experienced a setback in his recovery from a previous injury last month. That makes four wide receivers dealing with injuries, hampering Mateer and Venables’ plans. If Brent Venables can get rid of the injury curse, especially in the receiver room, Mateer’s high ceiling can really turn out to be yielding.

In his lone season as the starting quarterback at Washington State, Mateer posted impressive numbers. He threw for 3,139 yards and 29 touchdowns, while adding 826 rushing yards and 15 scores on the ground. No wonder, he was reportedly offered a NIL package worth around $3 million to join Oklahoma. But Mateer’s motivation lies elsewhere.

John Mateer is determined to show the rest of the SEC what they missed out on

Mateer, who is from just outside Dallas, hasn’t forgotten the treatment by SEC teams that overlooked him. “I’m from the south, and all of these SEC teams recruit the south,” Mateer told USA TODAY Sports. “So, I guess they all passed on me.” He took a little pause to process the intensity of the emotion that the statement held and continued, “Even Oklahoma passed on me. It really made me mad. I am not over it.” 

Deciding to move on from Washington wasn’t easy for Mateer. After all, it was the program that gave him a chance when others were not interested. While the NIL money on offer at Oklahoma was tempting, it wasn’t what swayed Mateer.

Offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle, with whom Mateer worked at Washington, was hired by Venables to entice the QB. Shortly afterward, Mateer got on a call with Baker Mayfield with Miami and UNC in pursuit, and the rest is history.

Expectations will be high at Oklahoma. Last season, the offense struggled to score points and didn’t have an identity, with Jackson Arnold struggling to get going. Mateer understands the weight of expectations. “It’s not for me to look at this as I’m the savior of a program,” Mateer said. “I don’t get caught up in that. Success is winning games.” Well, we know how badly Oklahoma craves success, and we also know that Mateer has an ambition of his own. Sooners fans will hope it comes together for them this season.