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Oklahoma football fans are getting excited about the Sooners' future on offense after the hiring of Ben Arbuckle. The former OC at Washington State is set to bring new life to Brent Venables' team, which struggled offensively under first-year starter Jackson Arnold. Based on recent speculations about the Sooners' quarterback situation, the former 5-star recruit's future in Norman might be in jeopardy.
The news surrounding Washington State quarterback John Mateer has sparked a lot of this buzz. According to the College Transfer Portal X account, the star quarterback is planning on leaving Washington State in the offseason. With this news in mind, OU superfan Stephen A broke down how great of a hire Arbuckle is for Brent Venables and his program.
“There's a lot of positives to this hire. Arbuckle led the nation's No. 9 scoring offense. He schemes open a lot of stuff in the passing game, which OU was unable to do this season. OU can keep its staff mostly intact. It's safe to assume OU makes a run at QB John Mateer.”
John Mateer might be the quarterback to lead OU into a new era
As Brent Venables has geared his focus on an Oklahoma football's defense that was lackluster under Lincoln Riley, the Sooners' offense took a significant dip in 2024. OU was second-last in the SEC in scoring, putting up 24.3 points per game. Unfortunately, many of these struggles were due to a lackluster passing attack that ranked last in the conference in yards per contest at 167.6.
Despite his emphasis on defense, Venables has been able to coexist with elite quarterbacks before. Over the last two years, Oregon superstar Dillon Gabriel was the lead signal caller in Norman, improving significantly under Venables. While Arnold is a very talented player, adding John Mateer to the quarterback room would be a considerable boost.
As a redshirt sophomore, Mateer had a breakout season in his first year as a starter in Pullman. A dual-threat quarterback, the Little Elm, Texas native has thrown for 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Mateer also has run for 826 yards and 15 touchdowns, posting the 34th-best QBR in the country. The Cougars compiled a record of 8-4 and were ranked as high as 21st in the nation. Mateer has carried Washington State's prolific offense to 36.8 points per game as the leading passer and rusher.
The story that a mystery school offered Mateer $1 million in the middle of the season proves how highly the rest of the country regards him. It's important to note that the last star quarterback to leave Pullman for the portal was Miami's Cam Ward, who became a Heisman contender and could be the top pick in this year's NFL draft.
Overall, the Sooners' new offensive coordinator, Ben Arbuckle, is an exciting young offensive mind who should boost Oklahoma's offense immediately. And the 29-year-old might not be the only person coming to Norman. Should Arbuckle bring Mateer with him, the Sooners will officially enter a College Football Playoff or bust season, which is exactly where this program expects to be.
