Oklahoma landed three players on ESPN’s preseason top 100 for the 2026 college football season, with defensive lineman David Stone, defensive lineman Taylor Wein and quarterback John Mateer all making the cut.
Stone led the way for the Sooners at No. 50 overall. ESPN also slotted him among its top defensive linemen, a nod that lines up with what he did in 2025: 42 total tackles, eight tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. He played in 13 games and made two starts last season, and ESPN cited his move into a full-time starting role as a major factor in where he landed entering 2026.
Wein checked in at No. 75 overall and also showed up among ESPN’s top defensive linemen. He broke through as one of Oklahoma’s best pass rushers in 2025, finishing with 39 total tackles, 15 tackles for loss and a team-high seven sacks. ESPN pointed to his place in an Oklahoma defense that was one of the nation’s best at stopping the run and putting pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
Mateer was the third Sooner on the list, coming in at No. 89 overall and 18th among the 18 quarterbacks on ESPN’s top 100. He enters 2026 as a central piece of Oklahoma’s push to get better offensively.
His ranking follows a 2025 season in which injuries interrupted his run while he guided OU through a tough schedule. ESPN has previously called Mateer one of college football’s more exciting quarterbacks because of his ability to create plays and his fearlessness throwing the ball.
That No. 89 spot is a significant drop from where Mateer stood a year ago. He entered the 2025 season at No. 16 overall on ESPN’s preseason top 100 after a standout 2024 campaign at Washington State, when he threw for 3,139 yards and 29 touchdowns and ran for 826 yards.
ESPN said its annual rankings weigh both what players have already produced and what is expected from them in the season ahead.
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