The air is thick with tradition in Oklahoma—and expectations that don’t come down just because spring ball is wrapping up. Four generations of championships will do that. So when offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle spoke about his first few months in Norman, he didn’t just refer to fan pressure. He pointed to the players themselves. “It’s not just the fans at OU,” Arbuckle said Saturday. “These players expect to win, and they bring that every single day. They bring it every day in the weight room, in the film room, out on the practice field. The expectations that everyone else has, they have for themselves.” Arbuckle has inherited a program with standards carved in stone—and a quarterback room under a microscope. And among the many moving pieces in Oklahoma’s post-Big 12 transition, few are getting more buzz than John Mateer.
According to analysts SEC Mike and Steve Lassan from That SEC Podcast, the pressure to perform is mounting—and the time to deliver is now. “John Mateer at Oklahoma… a lot of this is Oklahoma was just so bad offensively and had so much bad luck with injuries and all that,” Lassan said. “Now with a much more stable offensive system with Ben Arbuckle calling the plays, they have a proven quarterback in John Mateer. They went big to go get him, and now it’s time for him to deliver.” Lasssan is hopeful about OU’s offense with Mateer and Arbuckle in the play.
The numbers support the buzz. Mateer has two years of eligibility left, and if he seizes the moment, the ceiling could be SEC-high. Mike added to the conversation, saying: “I think in two years he could be perhaps the best quarterback in the SEC, they suffered an injury at receiver recently so they can’t shake that injury bug for some reason, but yeah, I think this is a hell of a selection and I think all the buzz is legit with John Mateer.”
If you ask them, this isn’t hype—it’s a calculated gamble. “Michael Hawkins was pretty solid,” Lassan noted, “but I think there’s a difference in where this offense could go with John Mateer and that is why he’s number six on the list.” And in the most classic Oklahoma Sooners way possible, the punchlines keep flying. “Nothing runs like a Mateer,” Mike quipped. “So yeah, again I don’t have anything to bicker about.We’ll see his transition to Oklahoma.” That confidence isn’t just because of how John Mateer looks in shorts. It’s rooted in tape.
At Washington State, at times, he was a one-man army, a football gyroscope. He threw for 3,139 yards and 29 touchdowns and added 826 yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground. That’s the kind of dual-threat production that doesn’t just stretch defenses; it snaps them in two.
Sep 14, 2024; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Tulane Green Wave head coach Jon Sumrall (left) shakes hands with Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables (right) after the game at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
But head coach Brent Venables knows better than to let pre-season promise lead the narrative. He’s been around too long to crown anyone based on spring ball. “I’m not a big expectation guy,” Venables said after Saturday’s brief public scrimmage. “Because I think it comes from everybody else. Which is fine; that comes with it. But I think if we focus on our standards — we got to get back to the standard of playing the kind of offense that’s been here for a long, long time. That is the standard. So, anything below that would be a disappointment.” Translation? If you wear the crimson and cream, you better live up to the names who wore it before. The bar doesn’t move for anyone—not even a potential game-changer like Mateer.
For his part, John Mateer isn’t blinking. Asked if he feels that weight, he met the moment with composure. “I mean, that is the expectation,” he said. “Like, I don’t sit there or wake up every morning and think, ‘Oh, I need this many touchdowns or this many yards.’ Winning games is the only goal. Winning games and doing it for the team; in turn, those things should happen. Because this offense should be pretty explosive.” It’s a statement steeped in maturity. And it hints at a QB who understands the difference between personal stats and team legacy—especially at a program that prints passers like dollar bills.
Still, the Sooner faithful won’t wait long to see results. The Sooners’ offense was sputtering last year, hurt by instability, injuries, and inconsistency. Now, Ben Arbuckle’s system gives John Mateer the keys to an engine that was rebuilt with intention.
Sooner or later, John Mateer’s safety net will come back strong
Oklahoma wide receiver Javonnie Gibson might be temporarily sidelined, but his spirit? Still firing on all cylinders. After suffering a broken leg during spring practice, Gibson underwent surgery, but head coach Brent Venables gave fans a dose of good news: he’s already on track to return for the start of the season.
“He had surgery a couple of days ago,” Venables said following the Sooners’ Crimson Combine. “It got rolled up on in practice, unfortunately. If he just stays on schedule, he’ll be back to start the season and be back with us.” And if you know anything about Gibson’s journey, you know he’s no stranger to bouncing back. He didn’t even start out as a receiver—he played quarterback in high school and lined up at defensive end his freshman year at Monticello. Talk about versatility.
Now, the former signal-caller turned wideout is hungry to make a name for himself in Norman. “I’m very excited,” Gibson said. “The fanbase, they’re crazy. I ran into two women at the hotel during my visit, and they told me how crazy they were about the Sooners. I’ve never been at a place like that. I want to be a part of that… I can’t wait for people to know my name.”
See, Gibson is no ordinary WR. Last season, he earned FCS All-American second team honors from the Associated Press. He led the Arkansas Pine Bluff with 70 receptions, 1,215 receiving yards (101.3 yards per game), and nine touchdowns. So when Gibson says he wants to be remembered, trust us, he will be, as his day of recovery isn’t far from now.
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