Oklahoma's Brent Venables Says Backup QB Market Could Shift

NORMAN — All of Oklahoma’s eggs are in John Mateer’s basket.

That has been clear but was made even more clear Wednesday when Sooners coach Brent Venables gave Mateer a vote of confidence despite his recent struggles.

“John’s our quarterback,” Venables said.

Mateer has thrown four interceptions in the last three games, and lost two fumbles in last week’s 41-13 loss to Georgia.

The fifth-year senior was brought in with offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle from Washington State two years ago and commanded a significant sum.

But in the open-transfer, pay-to-play reality of current college sports, the backup quarterback has been largely forgotten.

It used to be the norm for quarterbacks to enter a program and sit for two or three seasons before elevating to the starting spot.

Now, it’s rare for a quarterback to serve as a backup for more than one season before moving on for better money, guaranteed playing time or both.

Venables said there’s likely a change coming to the quarterback market, as teams — like Oklahoma — become willing to pay more for a solid backup rather than divert more money elsewhere.

“The longer we’re in this new version of college football, the more you learn,” Venables said this week. “Every week, every season, you learn more about how to manage roster efficiency. There’s a financial piece and a numbers piece when it comes to depth and things of that nature. You’re also learning by watching how other people navigate success and lack of success. Some of it’s head-scratching, right? You look around at some people with that supposed $45 or $50 million, and for whatever reason things aren’t clicking for them right now. There’s a lot that goes into it.”

Venables then veered away from the original question about the backup quarterback market.

But the point remains that many college football teams have gone cheap when it comes to quarterback depth.

Money is a major reason why Venables is reluctant to go away from Mateer, both the money the Sooners have spent on the quarterback and the lack of investment in an experienced backup.

Should Venables choose another option, his choices are a junior (Whitt Newbauer) who was solid at the FCS level as a freshman in 2024 at Mercer, but who has attempted just five passes in four games over the last year-plus at Oklahoma or a freshman (Bowe Bentley) who has a high ceiling but who has never played significant snaps at any collegiate level.

Over the last two seasons, the Sooners have lost Michael Hawkins Jr. and Jackson Arnold to the transfer portal.

Arnold transferred first to Auburn, before landing at UNLV this season. He’s thrown for 891 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions in four games there so far and run for three more scores.

Hawkins transferred to West Virginia after serving as Mateer’s backup last season and has thrown for 609 yards and five touchdowns with one interception while rushing for 425 yards and nine touchdowns so far.

The Sooners didn’t add any experience in the quarterback room over the offseason, with the only addition being the signing of Bentley.

Venables’ realization — and presumably that of general manager Jim Nagy — might not make a difference this season but could affect how Oklahoma approaches future offseasons when it comes to building the quarterback room.

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