Coach Brent Venables makes his feeling known on incoming Oklahoma transfer QB John Mateer 

The Oklahoma Sooners struggled on offense this season. After losing Dillon Gabriel (who would go on to have an amazing season and could win the national championship) to the transfer portal, the Sooner relied on Jackson Arnold to lead them.

However, he couldn't lead them to success. But the Sooners have been able to bring in another quarterback via the transfer portal in John Mateer.

Speaking about his program's newest quarterback, Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said this:

"Going to try to keep this to the game … but he has great talent … bring leadership … He’s going to make us better.”

Mateer has spent the last three seasons with the Washington State Cougars. For the first two seasons with the program, he spent it as the backup, becoming the starter for the Cougars for the 2024 season.

This season was a strange one for the program. They were one of the two remaining PAC 12 programs left in the conference and spent their season playing non-conference opponents, mostly from the Mountain West conference.

Despite this, Mateer was able to record a respectable 3,139 yards and throw for 29 touchdowns, as he led the Cougars to an 8-4 record and a spot in the Holiday Bowl. In that contest, they will face the Syracuse Orange.

However, with Mateer transferring to the Sooners, this will be a game that he will not be playing in.

John Mateer on joining the Oklahoma Sooners

The transfer of Mateer to the Sooners was helped by a recent star player who played for the program.

John Mateer spoke on Monday about how current Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback and No. 1 pick of the 2018 NFL draft Baker Mayfield convinced him to join Oklahoma.

"I was freaking out. I was like, 'There's no way Baker Mayfield just called me.' ... I was like, 'There's no way this is real.' It was a super cool moment, I called him back obviously, and he talked to me. He was a super humble, nice dude and it really helped."

Mateer is likely to be an immediate contender for the starting quarterback job in 2025. His numbers for the Cougars this year were much higher than any Oklahoma quarterback had this season. Also, his influence on the team could be enough to lead the team to success.

While with the Sooners, Mateer will be able to follow in the footsteps of fellow quarterbacks like Mayfield and Jalen Hurts, both of whom are having strong seasons in the NFL this year.