Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer didn’t have to look far for a new source of football wisdom this offseason. The Sooners added Jason Witten to their staff in January, and Mateer made it clear Wednesday at SEC Media Days in Tampa that the veteran tight ends coach has already made an impression.
Witten arrives in Norman with a résumé that speaks for itself. The former Tennessee star went on to play 17 seasons in the NFL, earning two All-Pro honors, 11 Pro Bowl selections and a Walter Payton Man of the Year award along the way. He also piled up 1,228 catches for 13,046 yards and 74 touchdowns with the Cowboys and Raiders from 2003-2020.
For Mateer, though, the bigger takeaway is the way Witten carries himself around the program.
“Coach Jason Witten just lives and breathes this game,” Mateer mused with On3’s JD PicKell. “We all love ball, we really do.
But sometimes you just have to kick it. There’s no kicking it with him and coach (Brent) Venables.
… I love being around it. There is so much wisdom, to where it is an obsession.
He is amazing, truly awesome.”
Witten’s path to Oklahoma included a five-year run as head coach at Liberty Christian School, a college prep school outside Dallas, where he led the program to two state championships. Oklahoma hired him in January as tight ends coach, and he joined former Cowboys teammate DeMarco Murray on the Sooners’ staff. Murray has been Oklahoma’s running backs coach since 2020.
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