Everyone in the college football world has had their eyes on Oklahoma football and quarterback John Mateer early in the season, and the Washington State transfer has not disappointed. The Sooners have had a pair of marquee games against Michigan and Auburn and have come through them unscathed, in large part thanks to Mateer's heroics.
Mateer can affect the game both with his arm and with his legs, and he has shown that throughout his career and during the start of this season with Oklahoma. The 4-0 Sooners jumped up to No. 7 in the AP poll following their win over Auburn on Saturday, and even got one first-place vote.
If this pace continues, Mateer will be right in the running for some of the biggest individual honors in the sport when the end of the season rolls around. He is currently one of the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy over Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, and that will only continue if Oklahoma continues to win games in impressive fashion.
Mateer has everything that it takes to run away with the Heisman Trophy, and he is already lapping the field.
John Mateer is the Heisman frontrunner through four games
John Mateer is a classic Heisman candidate, and that narrative will help him as the discourse around the award grows throughout the season. He is an electric player who runs and passes and is more than capable of the highlight-reel play that will captivate the attention of the nation on any given Saturday.
In addition to the proclivity to end up on the highlight reels, Mateer has also proven that he will come up big in the biggest moments. The Oklahoma offense struggled for much of the day against a very talented Auburn defense, especially in the red zone where it was forced to settle for three field goal throughout the game.
However, after Auburn took a 17-16 lead in the second half, Mateer came to life. He hit a big-time deep ball to Isaac Sategna III down the right sideline to get Oklahoma into the red zone on one of the best throws of the day across the country. On the next play, Mateer kept it himself and barreled into the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown.
The Oklahoma defense is also good enough to keep the Sooners in games where they don't have it all clicking on offense, and they showed it on Saturday. Jackson Arnold was sacked 10 times in his return to Norman, the last of which went for a safety that effectively ended the game.
If Mateer can keep making these big plays in the clutch moments against some of the best teams in the SEC like he did on Saturday, the buzz around him for the Heisman Trophy will only continue to grow.
Who can catch Mateer?
Mendoza is another favorite for the award at the moment, specially after his Indiana team dismantled Illinois 63-10 on Saturday night in Bloomington. Carson Beck will be in the running as well as long as Miami continues to look good and win games, but both of them don't play with the flash and flare that Mateer does. Right or wrong, that is an advantage for the Oklahoma quarterback.
One name to watch is Florida State signal caller Tommy Castellanos. He isn't at the same level as Mateer as a passer, but he is an explosive runner who put himself on the map with a great performance in a Week 1 upset against Alabama. The Boston College transfer has another chance to make a big statement in a few weeks when Miami comes to Tallahassee, and he could really enter the conversation with another big game in that one.
At this point, it looks like someone is going to have to come take the award away from Mateer. He looks like he is in no mood to just let it go.
