The Oklahoma Sooners rebooted their offense this offseason after a 2024 season that saw QBU average just 13 points per game in SEC play (when you remove defensive touchdowns). Out the door was Jackson Arnold, and back to tight ends coach is Joe Jon Finley, who replaced the fired Seth Littrell midseason as the interim offensive coordinator. Now leading the 2025 Oklahoma Sooners offense are Ben Arbuckle and John Mateer
Oklahoma’s newest leaders on offense put together a season in which Mateer totaled nearly 4,000 combined passing and rushing yards and 44 total touchdowns. The offensive reset is the biggest key to 2025 for the Sooners. If they can return back to a semblance of what’s expected at the University of Oklahoma, the Sooners could find themselves playing in the College Football Playoff in December.
It was a significant splash in the coaching and transfer portal market, led by a big move by 1Oklahoma Collective to get Mateer in the door. According to On3’s Pete Nakos, it took a $3 million name, image, and likeness package to land their new starting quarterback.
It was an important get for head coach Brent Venables after his second 6-7 season in three years. You’d be hard-pressed to find a coaching hot seat list across college football that doesn’t include Venables. But in the new era of college football that requires an investment in talent acquisition, universities may not be as quick to pay a buyout as they once were. Instead, according to Nakos, schools are willing to have a little more patience with their head coach while taking a more aggressive approach in name, image, and likeness and roster building.
Compared to paying a $44.8 million buyout, paying Arbuckle $1.5 million to bring in a new offense made more financial sense. Sources have told On3 that Mateer’s NIL deal sits around the $3 million mark….
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/on3-reveals-john-mateers-name-180030351.html
Author : Sooners Wire
Publish date : 2025-03-12 18:00:00
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