John Mateer’s 2025 season at Oklahoma came with plenty of noise from the outside, but inside the Sooners’ locker room, the story looked a lot different.
For teammates, the hand injury Mateer played through wasn’t an excuse or a convenient explanation for what Oklahoma went through. It was part of the reality he battled while still trying to lead the offense, even when the pain clearly limited him.
Left guard Eddy Pierre-Louis said Monday at SEC Media Days that Mateer kept showing up and kept fighting through it.
"John was John," left guard Eddy Pierre-Louis said Monday at SEC Media Days. "He wasn't 110 percent. We knew deep down what John was going through and knew how hard it was for him.
"We knew how hard it was, but he was willing to work, regardless. Even with his injury he was willing to put his body on the line, regardless," Pierre-Louis added.
The Sooners saw that toughness up close all season. Mateer’s body language and approach changed in 2025, and by the time Oklahoma took its second loss to Ole Miss, he had already acknowledged something important: at Oklahoma, he could trust the talent around him in a way he hadn’t at previous stops. That realization changed how he handled the offense, even if the injury and the lack of a running game kept the results from catching up right away.
Still, the people around him believe that difficult stretch is exactly why 2026 could look different.
"He's in a great spot now because he needed that cohesion from last year, and now he's going to blossom," Pierre-Louis said. "Having that and seeing a quarterback come back from an injury that should have lasted a couple months meant a lot. It meant a lot."
Defensive end Taylor Wein said he has watched Mateer grow not just as a player, but in the way he carries himself.
"I've seen John completely elevate his game and completely transform as a player, and his mentality," defensive end Taylor Wein said. "And it's only elevated the whole offense, and it's brought a huge pulse to the offense. We know John has a very good mindset and he's competitive.
"And it's actually really funny going against him at practice every day. He's the number one dude talking smack.
We're going back and forth and what not. It's a really good thing.
So, we're excited."
For Oklahoma, the hope is simple: the adversity of 2025 becomes the foundation for something bigger in 2026.
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Isaiah Sategna III and Michael Fasusi were the Sooners offensive representatives on the second team, while five defenders earned second-team recognition and special teams drew plenty of notice as well. Tate Sandell, Ben Anderson and Grayson Miller all got nods, which only adds to the sense that Oklahomas depth is being noticed beyond the usual headline spots, even if the full meaning of that preseason respect will have to wait for the fall to sort itself out. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahomas Most Important Fall Camp Battle Is Just Heating Up
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Deland McCullough, the new running backs coach who arrived after a stint with the Las Vegas Raiders, has already evaluated the room, and his first task is helping turn that competition into a more productive ground game. Oklahoma knows it needs to run the ball better this season, so the way this group sorts itself out in camp could end up shaping more than just the depth chart. [Read more 🡒]