John Mateer might be the sleeper hero for the Oklahoma Sooners, likely landing the starting QB position this year. Brent Venables got him over from Washington State and will look to use him to replace Jackson Arnold. Mateer comes in with a shining record of 3,406 yards, 32 TDs, and a 65.3% pass completion percentage. It’s crazy how there is so little chatter about him as he looks to make a great 2025 season with Brent Venables.
Venables has Mateer beyond busy at the ongoing spring camp. That’s because the practice schedule until the season opener is brutal. Mateer said about the demanding nature of the game, “A lot of the reps, you know? There are a lot of routes in this offense, and there are a lot of routes where the receivers can do different things based on a defense,” the newly recruited QB said. “In a lot of offenses, it’s that way, but this one too. So, getting those live reps is important.” Mateer mentioned that 45 practices are lined up all the way till fall camp, as Oklahoma canceled their spring game this year. He also said that it’s not going to be easy, but things will start looking up as they stick to the plan.
Coming to the surrounding support, Mateer can potentially rely on two talents. Michael Bratton and Steven Lassan picked who could be the breakout stars in 2025. In an April 1 video of That SEC Football Podcast, Lassan picked Eli Brown. “Stat sheet impact: one interception, four pass breakups, 30 tackles; not a huge impact. But, if you look at his advanced metrics, he was targeted 39 times, gave up only 21 catches and limited receivers to just 72 yards after the catch. […] So, I think you can see where this is going. A corner who played right away, …year two under Brent Venables, I think he can step up and be one of the top corners in the SEC.”
Eli Bowen made Sophomore All-American in 2021 and has impressive athletic records from high school. He has great leg power, which translates into his potential as a cornerback as well.
Bratton, on the other hand, wanted to pick Mateer but eventually picked Deion Burks. “What limited viewings we got of him last year, I was very impressed. I thought he lived up to the hype. Again, very limited. But, if he can be healthy, I think he could be potentially all-SEC caliber.”
Burks recorded only 245 yards in 2024 in what turned out to be an injury-marred season. Burks is a Purdue transfer and was once a highly praised WR entering the portal. “If you go back to the start of last season, he was one of the top receivers in the country. And certainly, one of the top receivers available in the portal.” Now in full health and with a great OC and new quarterback in place, Bratton thinks Burks would bring in some real damage.
Brent Venables is going full steam ahead at Oklahoma’s spring camp. He will step into the upcoming season after struggling in 2024 with a 6-7 record. He has no time to waste and is ensuring the same for his team. However, there are some other achievements that Venables thought were worthy of acknowledging.
Brent Venables has big news about the team’s academics
We don’t talk a lot about what college football players do outside of football. Venables, however, made sure the Sooners are excelling on the academic front as well. He told Josh Pate, “We just had our 5th straight record-setting semester academically, [with] over 3.0 team GPA,” the HC announced. “When we started, we were closer to a 2.0 than we were a 3.0-—embarrassingly speaking. But we’ve changed the mindset and the goal [by] just having great habits.” Venables also pulled the team’s leg, saying, “After football, there’s a plane that’s, you know, going to crash to some degree.”
Venables hoped that the academics would help his players do something in life since they were already making big money with NILs. “They might [get] a Day 3 opportunity in the NFL at best. Then, after that, it’s 3 years max. Now what? So we have a process set up here.” Not only is he training the boys to be good on the field. Venables is also hoping that his players will have the requisites to make it big in life.
No one is working at the capacity of Sooners’ HC at the moment. He has a new defensive coordinator and a new quarterback on board. Venables can also look to prepping Eli Bowen and Deion Burks as a solid support system for Mateer to excel. All in all, it seems that HC is truly making sure he earns every dime of the salary for which he was hired. Maybe 2025 will turn out to be a better year for him and the team.
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