He was in the transfer portal for 24 hours, and it didn’t take long to choose a new home and underscore the reality of today’s college football.
That was John Mateer last week in an Instagram post from 1Oklahoma, staring in the camera while the graphic asked, “Sooner Nation, what are you asking Santa for this season?”
The No. 1 player in the transfer portal and former star quarterback at Washington State, Mateer was holding a football in one hand and flashing No. 1 in the other. The “No. 1” signifying 1Oklahoma — the collective arm of Oklahoma sports.
Mateer wasn’t even wearing Sooners apparel for the commitment post.
It wasn’t long ago that coaches were decrying the “unsustainable” world of NIL. Now they’re betting everything on it — even with pay for play expected to arrive in the fall of 2025.
Give Oklahoma coach Brent Venables credit, the Sooners were stuck at quarterback and he wasn’t waiting for it to get better. For freshman Michael Hawkins Jr., to figure it out, or former five-star recruit Jackson Arnold to finally play to his potential.
A college football industry person close to the situation told USA TODAY Sports that 1Oklahoma offered Mateer, a rising junior, a multi-million dollar deal similar to what Miami paid Cam Ward in January, and Mateer then followed his offensive coordinator at Wazzu (Ben Arbuckle) to Norman. The person asked for anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the negotiations.
You win in the SEC with an elite quarterback, and disrupters on the defensive line. Oklahoma has the latter figured out; the former was a problem this season from the jump.
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But for an upset of Alabama in late November, the Sooners would’ve finished with their worst conference record since 1936. Two measly wins in their first season in the SEC isn’t going to cut it.
Not with the history and tradition (and administrative support) in Norman. And more important, not if 1Oklahoma had anything to say about it.
Mateer was a rare talent in the portal, a quarterback who can change the fortunes of a program. Much like Ward, he’ll arrive at Oklahoma with simply stated goals.
Last dance, last chance — for Mateer, and more than likely, for Venables.
Mateer led the nation in total touchdowns (44), throwing for 3,139 yards and 29 touchdowns and rushing for 826 yards and 15 scores. In other words, he’s exactly the dual threat Oklahoma thought it had in Arnold.
It was those expectations for Arnold at the end of 2023 that allowed Oklahoma to move on from Dillon Gabriel, another wildly successful quarterback from the portal. Venables said the Sooners didn’t run off Gabriel, who transferred to Oregon after accounting for 42 touchdowns (and only six interceptions) in his last season in Norman.
Gabriel responded and said in September that, “God put me right where I need to be.”
At this point, the results tell the story. Gabriel has No. 1 Oregon in the College Football Playoff, and was a Heisman Trophy finalist. Arnold was benched midway through the season and eventually transferred to Auburn earlier this month.
Hawkins says he is staying in Norman, and Venables also added quarterback Cole Gonzales of Western Carolina. But the 2025 season is all about Mateer.
When Mateer announced he was leaving Washington State, then-Cougars coach Jake Dickert (he has since accepted the Wake Forest job) said Mateer was offered a “seven-figure” deal to stay in Pullman, and that, “He’s going to be the best player in the country next year.”
Oklahoma still needs pieces around Mateer, and it doesn’t help that it lost five wide receivers (including star Nic Anderson) and tight end Bauer Sharp to the portal. There’s time to fill in the personnel gaps, but there’s little doubt what this signing means to Oklahoma and Venables.
The Sooners can’t struggle again in 2025, can’t fall further behind bitter rival and SEC expansion brother Texas. The Longhorns are preparing for a quarterfinal game in the CFP.
Oklahoma is playing Friday in the Armed Forces Bowl against Navy.
“Excited about John (Mateer),” Venables said this week. “He’s experienced. He’s got great arm talent and really good instincts. He’ll make us better.”
Maybe Mateer, who grew up in Little Elm, Texas, inside the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, just wanted to play closer to home. Maybe he wanted to follow Arbuckle, or a conversation with Sooners legend Baker Mayfield convinced him.
Or maybe Venables made it clear to 1Oklahoma that Mateer was the answer, and the collective took over.
“It’s a very competitive space, as everyone knows,” Venables said.
And Mateer and Venables are now connected in a very competitive, and unforgiving, conference.
Last dance, last chance.
Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Oklahoma, Brent Venables paying John Mateer to save football future
