Oklahoma's QB Starter is set, but Sooners Figure to Need More Than Just John Mateer

NORMAN — Despite the departure of 2025 backup Michael Hawkins Jr., Oklahoma didn’t pursue another quarterback in the transfer portal.

With John Mateer’s return, freshman Bowe Bentley’s arrival, plus Whitt Newbauer remaining on the roster, the Sooners are banking that they’ve got what they need at the position already.

That’s a big difference from the year before, when Jackson Arnold’s departure , plus the transfers of Brendan Zurbrugg led them to pursue Mateer, Cole Gonzalez and Newbauer from the portal.

In the first of a series of post-portal depth chart projections for the 2026 season, we take a look at quarterbacks.

Mateer, of course, was on the table anyway with the hiring of offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle from Washington State.

Gonzalez eventually transferred out to Pitt.

Mateer’s Sooners career began about as well as anyone could’ve imagined.

In the first four games of the season, all Oklahoma wins, Mateer completed 67.4% of his passes for 1,215 yards and six touchdowns and ran for 190 yards and five touchdowns.

But during the win over Auburn on Sept. 20, Mateer suffered a broken thumb that required surgery.

He missed just one game — the win over Kent State on Oct. 4 — but wasn’t the same quarterback after his return.

Over the last eight games, he completed 59.4% of his passes for 1,670 yards and eight touchdowns — with eight interceptions — and ran for 241 yards and three touchdowns.

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The Sooners are banking on Mateer to be the player he appeared to be before the injury, and building a better cast around their quarterback for success in 2026.

But what if Arbuckle and Brent Venables need to dip into their quarterback depth?

Oklahoma will likely have to rely on either Newbauer or Bentley.

Newbauer played in just three games in 2025, completing 2 of 4 passes for six yards.

At Mercer in 2024, Newbauer threw for 1,398 yards and 12 touchdowns with four interceptions in nine games — seven starts.

Bentley is a four-star prospect from Celina, Texas, who threw for 3,211 yards and 47 touchdowns and ran for 923 yards and 16 touchdowns as a junior.

Should the Sooners need a second quarterback option early next season, Newbauer figures to be the more likely choice.

His experience in the system and in college football — even limited action last season — gives him the edge over Bentley.

But if Bentley can make progress as the season goes on, there’s a good chance he could overtake Newbauer as Mateer’s backup.

The dynamic could also be affected by the potential change to the redshirt rule.

Now, players can play in up to four regular-season games while maintaining their redshirt status.

Under a change voted on by FBS coaches recently, players would be allowed to play in up to nine games while still maintaining their ability to redshirt.

The NCAA Division I committee still has to approve the proposal for it to come into effect.

Oklahoma Sooners, Whitt Newbauer — Oklahoma quarterback Whitt Newbauer figures to compete with freshman Bowe Bentley to be John Mateer's backup in 2026. | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

It’s been a bit since the Sooners have had one starting quarterback for a whole season.

Last season, Hawkins Jr. started the Kent State game.

In 2024, Arnold struggled and was replaced by Hawkins, though Arnold eventually was elevated to starter once more.

The year before, Dillon Gabriel started every game during the regular season but Arnold was forced into action at BYU after Gabriel was injured.

In 2022, Gabriel was hurt vs. TCU and the Sooners had to turn to a mishmash of quarterbacks vs. Texas with Davis Beville starting but running backs Eric Gray and Marcus Major (as well as punter Michael Turk and third-string quarterback Nick Evers) attempting passes. H-back Brayden Willis also spent time behind center.

In 2021, Spencer Rattler started the season as QB1 but freshman Caleb Williams took over after Rattler was ineffective against Texas and led the Sooners to a remarkable comeback victory.

So the chances of Mateer making it through the season unscathed figures to be slim, magnifying the importance of Newbauer’s and Bentley’s development.

Projected Quarterback Depth Chart

Starter: John Mateer, Sr.

Backup: Whitt Newbauer, RSo.; Bowe Bentley, Fr.; Jett Niu, RFr.