QB John Mateer Battled Through Highs and Lows During His Debut Season at Oklahoma

The Sooners on SI report card series continued on Monday with OU's quarterback room, which battled a major injury in 2025.

Oklahoma wide receiver Isaiah Sategna, running back Xavier Robinson and quarterback John Mateer celebrate a touchdown. | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

With Oklahoma’s 2025 season fully in the rearview, Sooners on SI is handing out position-by-position grades for every area of the team, continuing today with the quarterbacks.

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Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer’s debut season in the SEC was derailed by a hand injury, but he still was able to help the Sooners return to the College Football Playoff. 

Mateer finished the season with 2,885 passing yards, 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while completing 62.2 percent of his passes. He also added 431 yards and eight additional scores on the ground. 

He started the season on fire. 

Mateer averaged 314.6 passing yards per game in the year’s first three contests against Illinois State, Michigan and Temple, totaling five touchdowns through the air and three interceptions. He also rushed for 161 yard and four more scores in the first three games, but then he injured his hand against Auburn. 

Mateer was still able to rally despite the injury to engineer a game-winning drive against the Tigers, but his production took a nose-dive following hand surgery.

Sophomore Michael Hawkins Jr. filled in for Mateer against Kent State in the Washington State transfer’s only absence, but Hawkins did nothing to suggest he could carry the load for the offense while Mateer healed. 

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Read More OU 2025 Report Cards

• Offensive Line
• Defensive Ends
• Wide Receivers
• Defensive Tackles
• Tight Ends
• Linebackers
• Running Backs
• Cornerbacks

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Hawkins completed 14-of-24 passes for 162 yards and three scores against Kent State, and he rushed for 33 yards and a score on nine carries, but it was far from convincing and Mateer returned to the lineup against Texas. 

The return to the lineup did not match the production Mateer displayed in the first month of the season, however. 

Seventeen days post-op, Mateer went 20-for-38 against Texas and he threw three interceptions. 

OU leaned on the running game against South Carolina and Xavier Robinson got the Sooners back in the game against Ole Miss the following week, but Mateer’s hand severely limited the ceiling of Oklahoma’s offense. 

In back-to-back weeks against Tennessee and Alabama, Mateer was able to cut down his turnovers to one mistake late against the Volunteers, allowing Brent Venables’ defense to fuel two massive wins. 

Mateer did enough, finding Isaiah Sategna against Missouri and Deion Burks and Sategna against LSU to get the Sooners across the finish line and back to the CFP. 

The ball looked much better off Mateer’s hand in the CFP, but his fast start was derailed by an awful interception that Alabama returned for a touchdown. 

He was unable to shake off the mistake and get OU back into the game in the second half, but he put plenty on tape to break down all offseason with offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle to grow heading into his second season in the SEC.