Oklahoma's John Mateer Named To Maxwell Award Preseason Watch List

Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer was named to the Maxwell Award Preseason Watch List, and he was the only Sooner selected this year.

It’s another early nod that puts him in the national conversation as the 2026 season approaches.

The Maxwell Award is one of the more respected individual honors in college football, typically viewed as second only to the Heisman. It’s given annually to the player judged to be the best all-around in the country by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, NCAA head coaches, and members of the Maxwell Football Club.

The award is named after Robert “Tiny” Maxwell, a former Swarthmore College player, coach, and sportswriter.

Only two players have ever won it twice — Johnny Lattner in 1952 and 1953, and Tim Tebow in 2007 and 2008. It’s essentially the college version of the NFL’s Bert Bell Award, which is also handed out by the Maxwell Club.

Oklahoma has a solid history with the award. Three Sooners have won it in the past. Tommy McDonald took it home in 1956 as a halfback during one of the program’s great runs. Jason White won it in 2004, the same season he took Oklahoma to the BCS National Championship Game for the second-straight year. Baker Mayfield also claimed the award in 2017 during the same dominant season that also earned him the Heisman Trophy.

For Mateer, this is another piece of recognition after a year that showed both his upside and the challenges of staying healthy. Early last season he looked like one of the best quarterbacks in the country before the thumb injury slowed him down.

Now he’s healthy, has put on some muscle, and is entering year two in Norman with better weapons around him. Being the only Sooner on the Maxwell list is a reminder that the national media still sees him as a potential difference-maker.

Mateer has already been mentioned in Heisman conversations and continues to get individual recognition. If he stays healthy, limits mistakes, and plays at the level he’s capable of, these kinds of honors could keep coming.

The Maxwell Award has always been about recognizing the most outstanding player in the game, and Oklahoma’s past winners show the standard. Mateer has a chance to put himself in that group if everything clicks this fall.

For now, being named to the preseason watch list is a solid start and another reason for optimism as training camp gets going this week.