NORMAN — On Wednesday evening, the former Washington State quarterback, John Mateer, made a significant announcement on Instagram and Twitter. This move reunites him with first-year offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle, with whom he played during his breakout redshirt sophomore year in 2024. The decision puts an end to the recruitment of one of the top quarterbacks in the NCAA transfer portal. Mateer chose the Sooners over Miami, and he is expected to take on the role of the starting quarterback for an offense that needs a boost after finishing poorly in various offensive categories nationally.

Brent Venables' Big Addition

At 6-foot-1 and 219 pounds, Mateer enters the 2025 season with two years of eligibility remaining. He initially committed to Central Arkansas out of Little Elm High School in Texas but later flipped his commitment to Washington State, becoming the only Power Four school to offer him. Arbuckle's previous quarterbacks, such as Bailey Zappe, Austin Reed, Cam Ward, and now Mateer, have all achieved great success. Zappe has had a successful NFL career, and Ward was named a Heisman Trophy finalist this season.Now, Arbuckle and Mateer will work together at OU to restore the program's historical offensive success. After backing up Ward for two seasons, Mateer became the Cougars' starter in 2024. He had an outstanding season, completing 224 out of 347 passes for 3,139 yards, with 29 touchdowns and just 7 interceptions, while also rushing for 826 yards and 15 touchdowns. His quarterback rating of 164.1 was impressive.Mateer will now face tougher competition in the SEC. He will join second-year player Michael Hawkins Jr. and three-star freshman Jett Niu in the Sooners' quarterback room. He could be the key to fixing OU, which had a disappointing 6-6 record in 2024 and fired offensive coordinator Seth Littrell after just seven games. The Sooners' starting quarterback for most of the season, Jackson Arnold, transferred to Auburn, and Brendan Zurbrugg is in the transfer portal.Mateer is 8-4 in his career as a starter. OU opens its 2025 season by hosting Illinois State on August 30.More: OU football transfer portal tracker: Sooners land pair of WR transfers2024 season: 12 games played, 224-for-347 passing for 3,139 yards, 29 touchdowns, 7 interceptions, 164.1 QB ratingCareer: 24 games played, 239-for-366 passing for 3,406 yards, 32 touchdowns, 8 interceptions, 168 QB ratingMore: John Mateer joins OU football in ‘big addition’ from transfer portal: Social media reactsColton Sulley covers college sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Colton? He can be reached at csulley@oklahoman.com or on X/Twitter at @colton_sulley. Support Colton’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.(This article has been updated with new information.)