Oklahoma QB John Mateer Embracing Rushing Ability Ahead of 2025 Season

In recent memory, Oklahoma’s best quarterbacks have also been runners.

Baker Mayfield, the three-year Sooner starter and 2017 Heisman winner, rushed for 18 touchdowns and nearly 1,000 yards during his time at OU.

Kyler Murray was known as a running quarterback, logging 1,001 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns in his 2018 Heisman season.

Mayfield and Murray are OU’s last two Heisman winners. OU fans are hopeful that transfer quarterback John Mateer, another dual-threat quarterback, can reach a similar level of Sooner greatness.

But Mateer isn’t putting that pressure on himself. He also doesn’t want to be a carbon copy of Mayfield or Murray.

Mateer does, however, want to replicate certain areas of their games to help him achieve his ultimate goal: Getting OU back into national title contention.

“I think Baker’s toughness is just something that every quarterback needs to have,” Mateer said at SEC Media Days on July 16. “I feel like if you’re not giving everything you have then why should your other teammates when you’re supposed to be the leader. And Kyler… he was outrunning everybody every play, and I’d love to do that. I’m not quite that fast, but something like that would be awesome.”

Mateer committed to Oklahoma in December from the transfer portal after serving as Washington State’s starter in 2024. He threw for 3,139 yards, 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 2024, his lone season as Washington State’s primary signal caller.

Mateer’s rushing numbers were also stellar last year, as he finished the season with 826 yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground, averaging 4.6 yards per carry.

OU coach Brent Venables said Mateer made things harder for OU’s defense early into spring practice.

“As he plays the game, he looks like he's in fast forward a lot of times,” Venables said. “A great competitor. Super athletic.”

Mateer, who is listed at 6-1 and 224 pounds, learned how to utilize his dual-threat abilities at a young age, citing the trend of mobile quarterbacks at both the collegiate and professional levels.

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“I think it's shifted to a more athletic style of play,” Mateer said. “They say there's two plays in each play: The first play, if the first play doesn't work, you gotta be able to make the second play and react. It's super important, and it adds a whole other layer to the defense, and makes it a lot of fun for me and the rest of the offense. It's super frustrating for Coach Venables in practice, too.”

Though Mateer hasn’t yet played a snap for OU, he’s well aware of the injury plague that hit OU in 2024.

The Sooners saw seven offensive linemen miss multiple games due to injuries. Top wideouts Nic Anderson, Jalil Farooq, Andrel Anthony, Deion Burks and Jaquaize Pettaway all missed extended time due to various injuries.

Mateer knows that his injury chances increase when he takes off. But after three seasons at Washington State — two in reserve roles — he’s learned how to avoid hits and minimize damage when taking them.

“There’s a proper angle that you can take as somebody’s coming at you: Just not let them get a clean hit on you,” Mateer said. “You can have a little wiggle, which luckily I have. And you don’t need to take every hit. That’s a big thing for a quarterback I’m still trying to learn. Saving yourself for the next play, but also doing it at the right times.”

While Mateer was certainly OU’s biggest splash in the transfer portal, the Sooners snagged several other offensive players who are expected to make immediate impacts.

Running back Jaydn Ott transferred to Oklahoma from Cal and is expected to be its starting running back. OU also bolstered its wide receiver room with transfers Josiah Martin (Cal), Isaiah Sategna (Arkansas), Javonnie Gibson (Arkansas-Pine Bluff), Keontez Lewis (Southern Illinois) and Jer’Michael Carter (McNeese State). And on the offensive line, OU added Jake Maikkula (Stanford), Luke Baklenko (Stanford) and Derek Simmons (Western Carolina).

Mateer said he feels confident in the offense’s ability to do it all: throw, catch, run and block. And he expects his legs to be another weapon in OU’s offensive arsenal.

“I think the ability to design and scheme up a quarterback run with the plus-one run game is huge,” Mateer said. “But then also catching them off guard and scrambling is super important. We've got a lot of good players, and it's going to be a lot of fun to watch.”