Oklahoma, Brent Venables go all-in with transfer quarterback John Mateer. Will it work?

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.

Washington State quarterback John Mateer (10) breaks away from Portland State linebacker Peyton Wing (7) during their game at Gesa Field at Martin Stadium.

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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