The Oklahoma Sooners made a splash in the 2025 winter transfer portal window when they signed John Mateer away from Washington State. It reset the Sooners’ offense for 2025 and provided some hope that OU could rebound on that side of the ball heading into year two in the SEC.
Brent Venables and his staff at the time, which included the newly hired Ben Arbuckle, landed the portal’s No. 1 quarterback. Mateer had just totaled 4,000 yards and 44 touchdowns for the Cougars. Although it wasn’t against the toughest competition, the expectation is he’ll be better in year two as a starter for the Sooners than he was in year one for Washington State.
It was the biggest move of the offseason from a personnel standpoint. But everything Oklahoma wants to accomplish won’t simply hinge on Mateer’s arm or his legs. The Sooners have to get everything else right, too.
If the 2024 SEC season showed us anything, it’s that it’s not enough to simply have the best quarterback in the league. You also need a good team around them. Garrett Nussmeier threw for 4,000 yards for the LSU Tigers, and they went 8-4 during the regular season. Jalen Milroe and Jaxson Dart were drafted in the top three rounds of the NFL draft, and their teams went 9-3 and were upset by bad Oklahoma and Kentucky teams.
Mateer has to be good for Oklahoma, and he probably will be. But if OU’s offensive line isn’t significantly better than what it was a year ago, it’s not going to matter how good Mateer is. He and fellow portal addition Jaydn Ott will be running for their lives.
Oklahoma finished 12th in the SEC in pass blocking grade according to Pro Football Focus. They were also 15th in the conference in run blocking grade. The Sooners were 76th in the nation, averaging 155.2 rushing…
Source link : https://soonerswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/sooners/football/2025/07/12/oklahoma-football-offensive-line-john-mateer-2025/84802190007/
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Publish date : 2025-07-12 17:30:00
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