Camryn Johnson reveals how a specific mindset and improved offensive line play could propel the Oklahoma Sooners' star quarterback to replicate the dominance of the OKC Thunder defensive anchor
KTUL Tulsa Sports Director Camryn Johnson joined Sooners Roundtable Publisher Tyler Jones on the latest episode of The Jones Report, and their conversation about John Mateer was really interesting.
Expectations are sky high for Oklahoma football in 2026, and obviously, a ton of that focus is on quarterback John Mateer.
We all remember how electric he looked early last season. He started 2025 as the Heisman favorite, led the Sooners to a 4-0 start in September, and had the entire country talking about him.
Then the hand injury happened, and things went off the rails. He still gutted through it and helped get OU into the playoff, but it wasn’t the same guy we saw in the first month.
This year, the weapons around Mateer might be the best they’ve been since Brent Venables took over. He’s got First-Team All-SEC receiver Isaiah Sategna III back, Third-Team All-ACC addition Trell Harris, plus Parker Livingstone, Xavier Robinson, Tory Blaylock, Rocky Beers, and Hayden Hansen. That’s a loaded group.
But as Camryn Johnson pointed out, it all comes down to the guys up front. She drew an interesting comparison between Mateer and Oklahoma City Thunder star Chet Holmgren.
“I think John Mateer is capable. Like Chet Holmgren, he needs to be in the right mindset,” Johnson said.
She continued: “John Mateer is capable of having Heisman numbers, but ultimately, I think he’s a guy that just fits the system. So maybe he doesn’t have to stand out because he’s got all the weapons around him. He’s a guy that if he’s rolling, the rest of the team is rolling. They are very dangerous, but it all comes down to that offensive line.”
That comparison makes a lot of sense. Holmgren is incredibly talented, but he needs the right pieces around him and the right mentality to truly dominate.
Same with Mateer.
He’s not the type who’s going to overcome a bad offensive line every single week. But if the O-line improves, the run game gets going, and he stays healthy, Mateer should thrive in Ben Arbuckle’s system.
This will actually be Mateer’s fourth season working with Arbuckle. He played under him at Washington State before transferring to OU. In his final year in Pullman, he threw for 3,139 yards and accounted for 44 total touchdowns while also rushing for 826 yards.
That’s serious production.
CBS Sports recently put Mateer in their “High ceiling, low floor” tier, which feels fair but maybe a little low given what we saw from him pre-injury. If he can play a full season healthy, he has the arm talent and athleticism to put up legit Heisman numbers.
The biggest key for 2026 is clear: protect Mateer and let him operate. If the offensive line does its job, this offense has the potential to be explosive. And if Mateer plays with that same confidence and swagger we saw in September of last year, Oklahoma could be a dangerous team in the SEC.
You can listen to the full conversation with Camryn Johnson on the latest episode of The Jones Report, available now on Apple, Spotify, and everywhere else you get podcasts.
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