How Oklahoma Freshman QB Bowe Bentley Has Adjusted to Life in Norman

NORMAN — Bowe Bentley hasn’t put on pads yet as a member of Oklahoma’s football team, but he hasn’t wasted a second of his three months in Norman.

Bentley, a consensus 4-star quarterback in the Class of 2026, enrolled at OU in January. Three weeks before his arrival, Bentley played his final high school football game in the Texas 4A Division I state semifinals.

John Mateer will presumably be OU’s Week 1 starter in 2026, but Bentley seems poised to be the Sooners’ quarterback for the future.

And the true freshman made it a priority to build camaraderie with his new teammates from the moment he stepped on campus.

“It’s been great being able to get close with these guys,” Bentley said. “Everyone hanging out together, just playing pool, going to get food together. … We were close before we even got here, but these things outside of football really bring us closer.”

Bentley came to Norman after an illustrious high school career at Celina High School in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

As a junior in 2024, Bentley led the school to a 16-0 record and a state title as he threw for 3,211 yards and 47 touchdowns. He nursed an arm injury for the back half of the 2025 season but still led Celina back to the state semifinals.

Still, Bentley knows his place.

Between Mateer and OU offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle, Bentley is surrounded by older, more-experienced personnel. And in only three months on campus, Bentley has already learned plenty from those two.

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“Just seeing how (Mateer) leads around everybody and being able to learn from him… I think being in the classroom, watching film, how much it benefits you, taking that next step in there is huge,” Bentley said. “Coach Arbuckle is really intense, which I’m used to in high school and which I succeeded with. I think him being here helps me a lot with the history he’s had at multiple schools.”

Though Bentley won’t be the Week 1 starter, barring any unforeseen circumstances, he didn’t come to Oklahoma to be a four-year backup.

Bentley dreams of following the footsteps of other Sooner quarterbacks — like Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray and Sam Bradford — who have put together lengthy NFL careers after playing at OU.

Based on his first several weeks in Norman, Bentley believes he is surrounded by the right personnel to eventually get there.

“I think the history speaks for itself; it’s definitely Quarterback U,” Bentley said. “I think the coaches are next-level. Coach (Brent) Venables, the program he runs, I love it.”

Oklahoma is looking to build on its 2025 season in which it went 10-3 and reached the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2019. The Sooners won four games in a row — against Tennessee, Alabama, Missouri and LSU — to finish the regular season and punch their ticket to the CFP.

OU will begin its 2026 campaign against UTEP on Sept. 5.

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