The Oklahoma Sooners have to get busy in the transfer portal this winter. Head coach Brent Venables has seen 25 players hit the portal from the 2024 roster as of Tuesday night, adding just two transfers to the team.
But help could be on the way soon. OU is reportedly after one of the portal’s best available players, former Washington State quarterback John Mateer.
In fact, Mateer ranked at the very top of the list of best quarterbacks in the transfer portal, according to USA TODAY Sports’ Paul Myerberg. A total of 10 QBs were ranked by Myerberg, including players who have already found their new schools.
Myerberg’s list includes two former Sooners, Virginia’s Chandler Morris and Auburn’s Jackson Arnold ranked eighth and ninth. But no one topped the player that Oklahoma’s coaching staff has reportedly set their sights on.
“Mateer is the jewel of this transfer class and the one addition capable of matching Dillon Gabriel and Cam Ward — himself a former WSU transfer — as a top-level Heisman contender on a playoff contender,” Myerberg said. “Playing off the national map in Pullman, the rising junior threw for 3,139 yards, ran for 826 yards and had 44 total touchdowns. Mateer could be a transformative addition for a quarterback-starved program such as Oklahoma, which recently hired his former offensive coordinator, Ben Arbuckle.”
It’s hard to imagine Oklahoma would be described as a “quarterback-starved program,” but that illustrates exactly how much the Sooners need Mateer.
Many of the other players on Myerberg’s list have already chosen their next schools, such as Darian Mensah (Duke), Devon Dampier (Utah), Miller Moss (Louisville), Connor Weigman (Houston), Morris and Arnold. If OU cannot convince Mateer to come to Norman, they could be in deep trouble at a very important position in 2025.
On the other hand, there’s a reason Mateer is so highly sought-after. He was a star this season and could help the Sooners turn their offense around next season if he decides Oklahoma is the right place for him.