Why Oklahoma Transfer WR Mackenzie Alleyne is ‘Comfortable’ With QB John Mateer

Mackenzie Alleyne joined the Sooners after two years at Washington State, and his prior connections have allowed him to fit in quickly.

Oklahoma wide receiver Mackenzie Alleyne and quarterback John Mateer stretch during practice. | Carson Field / Sooners On SI

NORMAN — Wide receiver Mackenzie Alleyne has yet to catch a pass from quarterback John Mateer in an official game.

But one watching the spring game on April 18 might believe that the two have plenty of experience torching opposing defenses.

Alleyne, who transferred to Oklahoma in January after spending the 2024 and 2025 seasons at Washington State, had the scrimmage’s only receiving touchdown. He finished the spring game with three catches and that touchdown reception from Mateer.

As a true freshman at WSU, Alleyne didn’t appear in any games but was on the scout team.

That season, Mateer was the Cougars’ starting quarterback. He threw for 3,139 yards, 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions while rushing for 826 yards and 15 touchdowns during his first — and only — season as WSU’s starter. He entered the transfer portal and eventually signed with Oklahoma ahead of the 2025 campaign.

Mateer was a starter; Alleyne was a scout teamer.

Still, the time spent with one another in the Palouse has allowed them to possess strong chemistry throughout Alleyne’s first several months in Norman.

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“I’m more comfortable with him,” Alleyne said in April. “When we get on the field, it just makes everything click even easier. We are always on the same page.”

Alleyne wasn’t an every-down player for the Cougars in 2025, but he flashed his potential.

In WSU’s 34-21 win over Utah State in the Potato Bowl, Alleyne caught three passes for 63 yards and a 41-yard touchdown reception. He caught one pass for nine yards during the regular season.

Though Alleyne didn’t contribute much statistically throughout the 2025 season, he got plenty of reps. He appeared on 127 snaps, 78 of which were in run-blocking situations.

Mateer said Alleyne’s growth has been evident and that it hasn’t been hard to get the transfer wideout up to speed.

“He’s been great,” Mateer said. “He’s one of the receivers up there that is awesome to talk with, and he plays super hard, and that’s why he’s making so many plays.”

Alleyne’s touchdown grab in the spring game came on a four-yard out route. He quickly separated from defensive back Jeremiah Newcombe and caught Mateer’s pass in stride.

Mateer then greeted Alleyne in the end zone as the two performed a choreographed celebration dance, one that Mateer said they originally saw on TikTok.

Offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle — who joined OU’s staff ahead of the 2025 season from Washington State alongside Mateer — believed it showed the connection between the teammates who share WSU roots.

The touchdown connection from John Mateer to Mackenzie Alleyne that led to the interesting, or as Ben Arbuckle said "Weird Pullman, Washington" celebration. pic.twitter.com/zmpWVBIyFS

— Brady Trantham (@BradyDoesSports) April 18, 2026

“Some weird, Pullman, WA, stuff,” Arbuckle said after the spring game.

Alleyne is one of three wide receivers who transferred to OU in January, along with Trell Harris (Virginia) and Parker Livingstone (Texas). The Sooners also signed four freshmen from the Class of 2026: Jayden Petit, Daniel Odom, Xavier Okwufulueze and Jahsiear Rogers.

Oklahoma’s wide receiver room has massive potential between the three transfer signings and the retention of Isaiah Sategna, who caught 67 passes for 965 yards and eight touchdowns in 2025, his first year at OU. The Sooners will almost certainly be deeper at the position, too, as Deion Burks — who played his final college game on Dec. 19 — was the only wideout who logged more than 500 yards to depart from the program.

In a crowded, talented position group, Alleyne could have a breakout in 2026, thanks to the quick adjustment to his new setting and his somewhat long-standing relationships with Mateer and Arbuckle.

“With the passing and playcalls and everything, they’re the same calls I had at Washington State my freshman year,” Alleyne said. “Being there, relearning everything, it was easy to fit in.”