The (preseason) ballad of John Mateer

Sooner fans may not fully understand just how much is riding on the new Sooner quarterback and just how much he must do to be as effective at OU as he was at Washington State. This ought to help.

Sooner quarterback John Mateer, at Owen Field, an image originating on Mateer’s Instagram account

I’m sold on John Mateer.

I’m sold he can really play.

I’m sold, no small thing, the first-year Sooner quarterback has ingratiated himself entirely to his new team, having committed to leave Washington State for Oklahoma little more than seven months ago.

I’m even more impressed he’s done it given the NIL contract he’s reported to have signed — $2.7 million over the next two Sooner seasons — which, give or take, is likely about $2.7 million more than most of his teammates.

I’m sold, perhaps most of all, that he’ll fare just fine on the field, given he’ll be in his third straight season under the guidance of Ben Arbuckle, the offensive coordinator who also came to Norman from Pullman.

Running Arbuckle’s offense last season, not only did Mateer throw for 261.6 yards per game at a 64.6 percent completion rate, 29 tosses for touchdowns against seven interceptions, he also ran the ball 14.8 times per game — 178 over 12 games — for a sacks-included 4.6 yards per carry, 15 of those finishing in the end zone.

Can you imagine a Sooner quarterback running the ball that much?

Here’s a little history:

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