Washington State quarterback John Mateer didn’t last in the transfer portal for long.
Mateer officially committed to play at Oklahoma next season on Wednesday night, about 24 hours he entered the portal. Mateer, one of the best available players across the board in the portal this cycle, announced his commitment in perhaps the most Oklahoma way possible, too.
Mateer’s college future has been a source of speculation since the 2024 season ended. Mateer was one of the most productive quarterbacks in college football this season both throwing and running the football.
The redshirt sophomore was 224-of-347 passing for 3,139 yards and 29 TDs with just seven interceptions. He also rushed 178 times for 826 yards and 15 TDs as he was the team’s leading rusher.
Mateer’s 44 total touchdowns were the most of anyone in college football. Heisman finalist and former Washington State QB Cam Ward was second with 41 TDs and Clemson QB Cade Klubnik was the only other player with at least 40 total TDs.
Mateer had at least one passing TD and one rushing TD in 10 of Washington State’s 12 games this season.
“John will be the most sought-after player in the portal,” Washington State coach Jake Dickert said Monday. “I think he’s going to be the best player in the country next year and he informed us that he is, in fact, going to hit the portal.
“The biggest thing for our program is it proves once again our process is working. Our process is working. We’re offering a bunch of kids that have no other Power Five offers, we’re developing them into something really, really special.”
Oklahoma was immediately be considered a contender for Mateer, so his quick commitment there makes a lot of sense. The Sooners fired offensive coordinator Seth Littrell near the end of the 2024 season and hired Washington State OC Ben Arbuckle after the regular season. Oklahoma’s Week 1 starter, Jackson Arnold, entered the transfer portal at the end of the season and has already committed to Auburn.
Mateer will have two seasons of eligibility remaining at Oklahoma. He appeared in just one game in 2021 before making 11 appearances behind Ward in 2022. Ward was Wazzu’s starting quarterback for two seasons before he transferred to Miami for the 2024 season.
