John Mateer began his Oklahoma career as a potential Heisman-Trophy candidate and topped the list, even, just two games into the season.
Things didn’t quite pan out for him individually, but he led the Sooners to their first College Football Playoff since the field expanded beyond four teams. And now, with a year in the Southeastern Conference under his belt, some measure of pressure should be off. Still, last year’s modest-to-expectation performance may have some overlooking how good he could be in 2026.
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Athlon Sports published its spring power rankings of every quarterback in the SEC and Mateer came in at No. 7 of the 16.
“A chance to get healthy, along with an improved offensive line, rushing attack, and receiving corps, should help Mateer thrive for his second trip through the SEC,” author Steve Lassan wrote.
Mateer fell behind Texas Arch Manning, Ole Miss’ Trindad Chambliss, Georgia’s Gunnar Stockton, LSU’s Sam Leavitt, South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers and Texas A&M’s Marcel Reed, in that order. Five of those six players return from last year while Leavitt joins the Tigers from Arizona State. All five of the returnees also finished the season with higher quarterback ratings than Mateer did and only Reed threw more than Mateer’s 11 interceptions.
But where Mateer excels, and should moreso in 2026, is on the ground. Only Reed ran for more yards per game among returning starters. With that improved offensive line Lassan mentioned, count on Mateer picking more than his 2.96 yards per carry next year. And if he does, also count on him finishing higher than sixth in the SEC quarterback pecking order.
This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Oklahoma’s John Mateer seventh in Athlon’s too-early QB rankings
