"We weren't seeing clips like these last year": JD PicKell adds to the hype around John Mateer

Good news is coming from Norman, Oklahoma. The Sooners are pleased with John Mateer's performance during spring practice. The 6'1" and 224-pound signal caller arrived in Oklahoma in Dec. 2024 when he transferred from Washington State.

A series of clips have surfaced on social media showing Mateer practicing drills with the Sooners and appearing quite at ease. Speaking on Saturday about it, On3's JD PicKell had this to say:

"Under those social media posts from the Oklahoma faithful, got a lot of people saying, 'This is nice to see. We weren't seeing clips like these last spring necessarily. So again, is it propaganda? Are we taking a lot from a little? Potentially, but to me... Doesn't just feel like there's a good vibe around the Oklahoma offense?" Said PicKell on Saturday (1:15)

Who's John Mateer? What did he do before joining the Oklahoma Sooners?

Mateer was initially a three-star prospect who enrolled with the Washington State Cougars in June 2022. While he didn't play much in his true freshman season, he appeared in all 12 games in his redshirt freshman year, mainly as a wildcat. It was in his sophomore redshirt year that he took over the starting job at Washington State.

In 2024, John Mateer recorded 3139 passing yards, 29 touchdown passes and seven interceptions. In 2024, he had a QBR of 70.9 according to ESPN, which ranked 34th among signal-callers in the country. Mateer also had an impressive 826 rushing yards with 15 rushing touchdowns in 178 carries.

Overall, the Cougars had a solid 8-5 season under John Mateer's leadership. They participated in the Holiday Bowl, where they lost 52-35 against Syracuse. Washington State won eight of their first nine games and even managed to be a top 25 school for two weeks.

While he didn't earn any of the traditional honors because of the Pac-12 being on its reduced two-team format, he was selected by the conference as the "Pac-12 Top Offensive Performer." This helped him improve his valuation in the transfer portal, as he became a four-star transferee according to 247Sports.