The Oklahoma Sooners’ 2024 season fell flat. The offense lacked creativity, and the team struggled with key losses in the transfer portal. But 2025 brings hope—with Ben Arbuckle running the offense and John Mateer stepping in at QB, there’s reason for excitement in Norman. While some players flash in one game and others take an entire season, there are those rare three-year bloomers. And John Mateer is one of them.

Mateer arrived at Washington State with zero hype, barely turning heads. Even Jake Dickert, Wazzu’s head coach, had his doubts. And it took some serious convincing from then-OC Eric Morris to bring him in. But now, Mateer is making the jump from G5 to the SEC, where expectations are sky-high. An Oklahoma insider, John Williams, made it clear on Locked on Sooners: John Mateer’s on a tight timeline—no room for error.

Williams said, “John Mateer has to be the John Mateer that we saw last year for Washington State. Actually, he’s got to be better. He’s got to be more consistent.” But why the harsh ultimatum? The insider didn’t hold back. “He had some stinko passing performances last year. Some games where he did not have a very high completion percentage. If you’re going to be the quarterback at Oklahoma, if you’re going to lead Oklahoma back to the playoffs, back into title contention, you cannot afford to have some of these passing performances that John Mateer had against some of the defenses Oklahoma will play.”

It’s clear—Mateer’s 3,139-yard season at Washington State isn’t enough to silence the doubts. The SEC is different, and now all eyes are on him. Can he handle the heat? The numbers say he can. He had a rough passing day against Texas Tech (9 for 19), but then exploded for 197 rushing yards. Still, when you’re facing SEC powerhouses, a 47.4% completion rate won’t get the job done.

Not only this, against Wyoming, he cleaned things up, going 16 of 22 (72.7%). More efficient? Absolutely. But he only managed 182 passing yards. On the ground, he ran for 56 yards at 3.1 YPC, adding one touchdown and one interception in a loss. So, while Mateer flashed his potential at Washington State, Oklahoma demands more. The SEC isn’t forgiving, and if he wants to lead the Sooners back to glory, he’ll have to level up—fast.

Even John Williams is on the same page: “I need him to be even better than what he was against Washington State. I’ve got to see him make the second jump himself in Ben Arbuckle’s system—from the 1st year as a starter to the 2nd year as a starter.” Now Mateer isn’t just stepping into a new conference—he’s stepping into a higher level of competition. He has to take full advantage of the upgraded talent around him, from the stronger wide receiver corps to a (hopefully) more dominant offensive line. And if he can put it all together, Mateer won’t just survive in Norman—he’ll thrive.

But hold on—can Mateer really fill Jackson Arnold’s shoes?

Arnold was supposed to be Oklahoma’s future, the five-star talent set to lead the Sooners into the SEC. Now, it’s Mateer’s show. Mateer’s got the talent, but Sooner fans aren’t just looking for a QB; they want a leader, a game-changer. The spotlight’s on him now—can he deliver?

John Mateer’s big test

John Mateer arrives in Norman with a standout season behind him, stepping in to replace Jackson Arnold, who took his talents to Auburn. As of now, Mateer’s abilities aren’t in doubt—but the challenge ahead is massive.

Steve Lassan, a football analyst at Athlon Sports, put it bluntly: “He’s probably the biggest wild card of these quarterbacks. You know, how he makes that transition from playing a Mountain West schedule to the SEC. I think he’s got some room to improve as a passer, but going in the same system with a talented transfer group that Oklahoma has at receiver—Deion Burks—you could see this hitting right away. You could also see this as it’s a pretty big jump to go from the Mountain West essentially to the SEC.”

And Lassan raises a crucial point. The jump is real. Just look at the strength of schedule rankings from 2024—Oklahoma ranked 6th, while Washington State sat at 90th. That’s a night-and-day difference. So, the big question remains—can Mateer handle the heat in the SEC?

Lassan didn’t dodge the big question—Jackson Arnold or John Mateer? “If you asked me before last season, the answer would have been different, and I still think that… Arnold can still be a good quarterback in the SEC. I just think at this point, if you’re Oklahoma, to get a guy (Mateer) who was that prolific and he knows the offense already—he is day-one ready to step into your starting job—I think you have to go with that,” said the analyst.

While Lassan ultimately sided with Mateer, his words came with a warning. Mateer may be the right choice on paper, but the SEC is a different beast. He still has a lot to prove.