New Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer has played one full season of college football. That season went so well that Mateer is earning legitimate All-American talk this spring.
On a new team. In a new conference. He’s that’s highly thought of.
On Monday, FOX Sports analyst Joel Klatt released its ranking of the top 10 quarterbacks in the country going into the 2025 season. Texas’ Archie Manning, Miami’s Carson Beck and Penn State’s Drew Allar’s listing was no great surprise. Beck captured two national championships at Georgia. Manning’s genetics, combined with some time on-field, made him a clear choice. And Allar is ranked third in Nittany Lions history in touchdowns, with an outside chance to set the school record this season.
Mateer is the least known quantity but ranked ahead of two of those names, third overall. Despite the limited experience, his 2024 season at Washington State drew plenty of interest when he hit the transfer portal.
“He is really talented as a thrower,” Klatt said. “He is athletic and quietly put up one of the best quarterback years in the country. Now, he’s going to enter the spotlight. So now he goes down to Oklahoma, he goes to the SEC, and yes, that’s a jump, there’s no doubt. But he brings his offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle with him. So he’s not going to learn a new system and in a lot of ways that should pay dividends for Mateer.”
“He’s got a big arm,” Klatt continued. “He can run it. He’s a dual-threat guy. He was the only quarterback last year to average over 250 yards through the air throwing the football and 50 yards on the ground in every game.”
Klatt went on to say that based on the film, Mateer was one of the 10 best quarterbacks in college football last year and expects him to be one of the five best in the country in 2025.
Mateer led FBS in total touchdowns last year, throwing for 29 and rushing for 15 more. He threw for 3,139 yards and ran for another 826. The 3,965 total yards ranked fourth in the country, behind only two players who received Heisman Trophy votes, Cam Ward at Miami and Spencer McCord at Syracuse, and Ole Miss’ Jaxon Dart.
The Southeastern Conference was responsible for five of the top 10 spots on Klatt’s list. Manning ranked No. 2, LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier ranked fifth, Florida’s DJ Lagway ranked sixth and South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers ranked eighth. The No. 1 quarterback in the country, according to Klatt, a former quarterback himself, is Clemson signal-caller Cade Klubnik.
The Mateer era begins at OU on August 30 when the Sooners host FCS Illinois State in Norman.
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