Who Will Be the MVP for Oklahoma in 2025?

With the 2025 season now just one week away, John Hoover, Ryan Chapman and Carson Field made their predictions for OU’s Most Valuable Player.

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Hoover's Pick: QB John Mateer

Oklahoma Sooners, John Mateer — Quarterback John Mateer calls runs a walkthrough before one of Oklahoma's fall camp practices. | DOUG HOKE/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Since I “boldly” picked quarterback John Mateer to win the Heisman Trophy and lead the Sooners back to the playoff this year, I’ll go ahead and take him as my team MVP. But Mateer’s contribution to resurrecting the offense and rejuvenating the program goes beyond touchdowns and yards. Think back to the first time Sooner Nation saw Mateer: was it at a women’s basketball game? Or a women’s gymnastics meet? Remember when he fired up the crowd before the Crimson Combine? Just this week he was sharing with teammates his new NIL deal with Beats by Dre, handing out crates of high-end headphones. Mateer has galvanized the program since arriving in Norman in December, and he’ll be the driving force behind any success the Sooners experience in 2025.

Chapman’s Pick: RB Jaydn Ott

Oklahoma Sooners, Jaydn ott — Oklahoma running back Jaydn Ott carries the ball during one of the Sooners' fall camp practices. | Ryan Chapman / Sooners on SI

Alright, Hoov got the first pick and rightly took John Mateer. Great call. But Mateer’s running mate in the backfield will be just as important if the Sooners are to have success in 2025. DeMarco Murray has been in search of a feature back since Eric Gray departed after the 2022 season, and general manager Jim Nagy delivered with Jaydn Ott. He spent his final year at Cal hurt in 2024, but Ott was must-see TV in 2023. He rushed for 1,315 yards and 12 scores, averaging 5.3 yards per carry, and he added 169 receiving yards and two additional scores as an option in the passing game out of the backfield. He routinely made defenders look silly in the open field, and since arriving over the summer, he’s added even more bulk to his lower body to run through SEC tacklers. The Sooners lacked anyone who could turn a 5-yard run into a 15-yard gain last year, much less a true home run hitter, and Ott is the kind of back that can flip games by running around and through an opposing defense — even if things aren’t perfectly blocked up front.

Field’s Pick: DE R Mason Thomas

Oklahoma Sooners, R Mason Thomas — Oklahoma defensive end R Mason Thomas hits Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe during the Sooners' upset victory over the Crimson Tide. | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

R Mason Thomas was OU’s breakout star last year. The defensive end, then a junior, finished 2024 with 23 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, nine sacks, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and a scoop-and-score touchdown. Thomas will be even better in 2025. Oklahoma’s defensive line is arguably the best in the SEC and is among the best in the nation. Even in Oklahoma’s disappointing 6-7 SEC debut season, Thomas showed time and time again that he was a dominant edge rusher against high-level offensive tackles. In a stacked defensive end group that also includes Marvin Jones Jr., Adepoju Adebawore, Danny Okoye and Taylor Wein, Thomas will be the leader and help OU’s pass rush live up to its lofty expectations.

Hoover's Pick: QB John Mateer

Chapman’s Pick: RB Jaydn Ott

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Field’s Pick: DE R Mason Thomas