There are plenty of Oklahoma fans that still have doubts about quarterback John Mateer heading into his second season with the Sooners after transferring from Washington State, and it sounds like former OU assistant-turned-local-radio-personality Cale Gundy has that same worry that has kept some fans from going all in on Mateer.
It's basically been a chicken or the egg question throughout Sooner Nation. What came first to influence Mateer's struggles in 2025, the thumb injury or the inconsistency? It was obvious Mateer wasn't as good after midseason surgery on the thumb on his throwing hand, but some argue that the signs were already there that Mateer would be doomed against SEC defenses anyway.
"I love John. You know that. You've been around John, I've been around John. I'm a huge, huge fan of his," Gundy said to Mark Rodgers during the Middle of the Day Show on The Sports Animal. "But I watched a lot of film at Washington State. I saw his throwing form, I saw his throwing style, I saw great passes, I saw some very inconsistent stuff.
"To me, a good quarterback, you don't see inconsistency. Bad throws like that, that's not normal for good quarterbacks."
— Cayden McFarland (@caydenmc) July 14, 2026
Sooners fans are split on if there is a real concern about John Mateer
It's clear Gundy is not a Mateer believer, even if he claims to be a fan. Gundy, the brother of former Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy, was an assistant on the Sooners' staff for 23 years under all of Bob Stoops, Lincoln Riley and briefly Brent Venables. His roles included coaching wide receivers and running backs and serving as recruiting coordinator, where he really thrived.
Gundy himself was also a quarterback for the Sooners in 1990-93 and played baseball at OU. He was First-Team All-Big Eight in 1993. He then witnessed firsthand some incredible quarterback play as a coach between the likes of Jason White, Josh Heupel, Sam Bradford, Landry Jones, Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, Jalen Hurts and Caleb Williams.
All that means Gundy obviously knows what it takes for great quarterback play, but like OU fans, he's also spoiled to the type of talent that has played the position for the Sooners. Even Dillon Gabriel had local haters before becoming a Heisman Trophy finalist the next season at Oregon.
Mateer walked into Norman with Mayfield comparisons as one of the best quarterbacks in the transfer portal last year. He then broke Mayfield's record for most passing yards in an OU debut so that only skyrocketed hype before it came crashing down right as SEC play kicked off.
While leading the Heisman race early in 2025, Mateer broke his right thumb against Auburn in the fourth game of the season. He missed only one game after surgery but never returned to his early-season form. He ultimately threw for 2,885 yards and 14 touchdowns with 11 glaring interceptions while completing 62.2% of his passes. He also rushed for 431 yards and eight more scores, but his ground production also dipped after the injury.
Read more: John Mateer has earned all the respect from Baker Mayfield as Oklahoma's QB
And that's where the argument begins. Did Mateer struggle because of the injury or would he have no matter what? The answer is yes.
There's a middle ground in this argument that has divided Sooner Nation. Gundy is correct. Mateer was also inconsistent while at Washington State and that was only going to get worse against much tougher SEC defenses. But there's also no denying that a broken thumb making it difficult to even grip a football also hindered Mateer tremendously.
Mateer is still a good quarterback, so Gundy might have overstepped with that statement. He's not at the same level we're used to seeing in crimson and cream, though. At least not yet.
It's fair to have doubts about Mateer for 2026 but, especially with the offseason he's had, there's also every reason to believe Mateer will be better than last season.
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