One of Oklahoma’s biggest offseason questions centers on John Mateer, and the Sooners’ starting quarterback is attacking that challenge with some help from a well-known QB trainer.
Mateer arrived in Norman as one of the top transfers in the 2025 cycle after a big season at Washington State. He put up 3,139 passing yards, 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions while also rushing for 826 yards and 15 scores, then followed offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle to Oklahoma.
His first stretch with the Sooners made the hype feel real. Through four games, Mateer looked like a Heisman front-runner.
Then came the thumb injury on his throwing hand in that fourth game, and things changed. He finished the season with 2,885 passing yards, 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, and his efficiency dipped in conference play as the year went on.
The injury also put a spotlight on his unusual sidearm release. Mateer has said the broken thumb forced him to throw more sidearm than he had before because he could not grip the ball as well, which changed his mechanics on certain throws.
According to SoonerScoops’ George Stoia, Mateer has been working this offseason with a quarterback guru who has also worked with Josh Allen.
"He's looked at it this offseason," Stoia said on 'The Paul Finebaum Show.'"He's worked with several different high-profile quarterback trainers, including Josh Allen's quarterback trainer, Josh Hess, who does all sorts of biometrics and all this scientific stuff. It's supposed to fix John's throwing motion, make him a better passer, and get him back looking like the quarterback that he was before he broke his hand."
Even with that work, the expectation is not that Mateer will suddenly turn into a completely different thrower. His sidearm style is likely still part of the package. The bigger issues are his footwork and decision-making, not a total mechanical rebuild in the middle of his development.
The thumb injury clearly affected his throwing and likely shook his confidence, but it was not the only reason his season trailed off. It did not explain the throws into double and triple coverage. Mateer also said during the season that his eyes were not seeing the game well, especially when pressure forced him into post-snap reads.
This offseason, he has been working with Brent Venables and spending time on film study. If that combination of recovery, cleaner decision-making and sharper timing comes together, Oklahoma could be looking at a special 2026 from its quarterback.
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