The last couple weeks had been crazy for John Mateer.
The former Washington State quarterback was going through bowl practices with the Cougars when offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle was hired as Oklahoma's new offensive coordinator earlier this month. Last Monday, after lots of speculation about his future, Mateer entered the transfer portal after two seasons at Washington State.
On Wednesday, he officially announced his commitment to the Sooners, following Arbuckle to a new program.
There was a lot that went into that decision for Mateer. But at the top of that list was rejoining his offensive coordinator, who helped lead Mateer to a standout season in 2024.
"Me and coach Arbuckle have a great relationship," Mateer said Monday during an interview with KREF in Norman. "He's coached me for two years, one of them being behind (former Washington State QB Cam Ward) so I was able to learn from his mistakes and the things he did well. Coach Buck has been a great man in my life and a great mentor, and I'm really excited to keep that going.
"It was kind of a no-brainer to go with him to a school that I already knew the system and it's closer to home. No-brainer."
The Little Elm, Texas native originally committed to Washington State as a two-star recruit in the 2022 class. However, under the guidance of Arbuckle, Mateer emerged this past season in his first year as a starter. He led the Cougars to an 8-4 record, throwing for 3,189 yards and 29 touchdowns while completing nearly 65% of his passes. He also added 826 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns on 178 carries (4.6 yards per carry).
Mateer entered the portal as the top-overall recruit, and now comes to Norman as one of the more highly-touted additions in the cycle.
Here's a few of his other notable quotes during his interview with KREF's Chris Plank.
(Editor's note: Interview has been edited for length and clarity).
When you made your commitment announcement, you posted a picture of you from 2020 standing outside Oklahoma Memorial Stadium flashing the horns down. What's that story?
"I was actually there for a baseball tournament. It was me and my dad. We went up there and we had an evening off. We went to go look at the stadium, and I knew I wanted to play either one of the sports in college, it just happened to be football. We kind of kept that photo hidden just in case whatever school I ended up going to. It was crazy how it worked out. I throw the horns down all the time."
When was the moment things clicked for you that you could play high-level football?
"I'm big on proving it to myself. So not until probably the game against the University of Washington, where we beat them and I'd say I played pretty well in that one. That's a good defense with Steve Belichick, who's been in the NFL... I went home after that one, I felt pretty good and pretty confident in my abilities."
What was it like when Baker Mayfield called you?
"It was surreal. I actually didn't answer his first phone call because it was a number I didn't know, and I don't really answer numbers I don't know. But he left me a voicemail, and I was freaking out. I was like, there's no way Baker Mayfield is calling me. I was sitting in Coach Venables' office, the huge office and I was like there's no way this is real.
"Super cool moment. I called him back, obviously, and he talked to me and he was just super humble, nice dude. It really helped."
How would you describe your game?
"I'd say I have the ability to be a pocket passer, but I enjoy to run the ball. At the end of the day, I'll play a little reckless and tough because I'm gonna do whatever it takes to win the game."
What was your first impression of Brent Venables?
"He seemed like a great guy and he seemed super passionate. The first time I was there, I went to his house and we just sat down and talked about football for a long time, the X's and O's and what he likes. I actually asked what he'd do to stop him. I liked hearing that to make me better and to get his mind going, see where he's at. Then just what he did when we got there to the training room, getting all the recovery stuff and the SOUL Mission and having stuff like that in place to better his players' performance on and off the field. That meant a lot to me, and I know my family liked that.
After a crazy few weeks, what's next?
"It's definitely important to give my body a rest, just because I took a beating. I kind of played some reckless football here and there. I have to give my body a little rest. But I started working out again yesterday actually, it felt really nice. So I'm gonna be working out. Then I have to give my mind a rest because the last couple of weeks have been brutal. But it's great how it worked out. It's time to go. I'll move there January 9 or 10, then it's time to go.
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