Why Facing Oklahoma's Defense in Practice is 'Really fun' for QB John Mateer

NORMAN — Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer had plenty of areas of focus during the offseason.

After an up-and-down first campaign in Norman, Mateer prioritized improving his footwork and his throwing motion while also spending countless hours at OU’s facilities studying film.

Mateer expects to improve in 2026 as a result of those things. And he also believes that reps against OU’s vaunted defense will make him better.

“They're really good,” Mateer said of the defense. “They have all the potential to be really good. It's fun to go against.”

OU’s defense was arguably the SEC’s best in 2025. The Sooners led the conference in total defense (272.5 yards allowed per game), scoring defense (15.8 points allowed per game) and sacks (45).

Throughout Brent Venables’ tenure as OU’s head coach, the unit has steadily improved.

In 2022, Venables’ first season at the helm, the Sooners allowed 30 points per game, which ranked 122nd nationally. Last year, Oklahoma allowed 30 points in only two of its 30 games.

Venables previously served as Clemson’s defensive coordinator for nearly a decade and helped the Tigers win two national championships. The coach’s defensive wisdom has allowed OU’s defense to go from liability to safety net in only four years.

And that makes every practice day challenging for Mateer.

“He throws a lot at you, tries to confuse you,” Mateer said.

With veteran stars like Eli Bowen, David Stone, Kip Lewis and Taylor Wein all back, OU’s defense should again be one of the nation’s best in 2026.

But the Sooners will go toe to toe with some of the other most formidable defenses in college football.

Under Kirby Smart, Georgia’s defense has been one of the nation’s stingiest, year in and year out, and the Bulldogs made the College Football Playoff quarterfinals as a result last year. Texas’ defense improved significantly toward the end of 2025, and the Longhorns brought back star edge rusher Colin Simmons. And Texas A&M, led by defensive-minded coach Mike Elko, finished second in the SEC with 43 sacks in 2025, trailing only Oklahoma.

Venables regularly switches up his defense’s looks, preparing the offense for any unconventional looks it might — or might not — see from opponents.

"It's like, 'Well, if it does happen, I've seen it.' There's no excuse,” Mateer said. “You've seen it twice, you know how to go against it.’”

Though OU’s defense is stout, Mateer goes to practice undaunted.

According to Wein, who called Mateer “a very excellent quarterback,” his competitive spirit has elevated both sides of the ball as they’ve competed against one another.

“It's actually really funny going against him at practice every day — he's the number one dude talking smack,” Wein said. “It's only elevated the whole offense, and it's brought a huge pulse to the offense.”

OU’s offense, on paper, should be much better than it was in 2025.

The Sooners added weapons like wide receivers Parker Livingstone and Trell Harris and tight ends Rocky Beers and Hayden Hansen. And, of course, Mateer is now fully healthy after he played through a thumb injury during the back half of the 2025 season.

Mateer knows that the offense must take a step forward if OU wants to return to the CFP. And he believes that the challenge of facing the Sooners’ defense will allow the unit to flourish.

“We've got to be good on our half to be able to compete and play well against them,” Mateer said.

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