Now in his fourth season as Oklahoma's head football coach, Brent Venables has worked with some of the nation's elite quarterbacks in Norman. After beating Illinois State in Week 1, he believes he has another one in John Mateer.
The Mateer hype was already off the charts heading into the season, but his performance in the win only increased Venables' confidence in him. The head coach raved about Mateer's performance in Oklahoma's victory over Illinois State, particularly praising his ability to “stay at a consistent level” throughout.
“He's just right here in this rare air,” Venables said after the game, via OU Insider. “I love John. [He's] ultra competitive but never too high, never too low. There's gonna be some kind of headwind tonight. There's gonna be some kind of pushback, and it's about responding. You gotta take the bad with the good and stay at a consistent level, and I thought he did that. [He] bounced right back after the interception. His maturity, his toughness, his leadership, his playmaking, all of that. We're at a real premium level in my opinion.”
"He's just right here in this rare air."#Sooners head coach Brent Venables on quarterback John Mateer's performance during OU's season opener. pic.twitter.com/scaZzeQa2w
— OU Daily (@OUDaily) August 31, 2025
Venables' history of quarterbacks at Oklahoma previously includes Dillon Gabriel, Jackson Arnold and Michael Hawkins Jr. Mateer is the third signal-caller to join the Sooners as a coveted recruit, following Gabriel and Arnold.
Mateer committed to Oklahoma from the 2025 college football transfer portal, where he was considered the top available quarterback. He began the 2024 season as a relatively unknown player but broke out with 3,139 passing yards, 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions, in addition to 826 rushing yards and 15 scores on the ground with Washington State.
Oklahoma faces stiff test in 2025 college football season Week 2
After picking up a solid win over Illinois State, Oklahoma will face a substantially larger challenge in Week 2. The Sooners will remain home, where they will host No. 14-ranked Michigan in one of the biggest games of the week.
The game will be a significant test for Mateer, who has yet to face an opponent as credible as Michigan. Washington State faced only one ranked opponent in 2024, Boise State, in a game that Mateer ended with 327 passing yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
On top of the stakes, the game will be a semi-emotional homecoming for Wolverines coach Sherrone Moore, who played guard at Oklahoma in 2006 and 2007. The meeting will also be the final game for Moore before he serves a two-game suspension.
