Greg McElroy crowns John Mateer No. 2 QB as Arch Manning fades

ESPN college football analyst Greg McElroy is a glass-half-full guy when it comes to high expectations for the Oklahoma Sooners in the 2025 season. And a big reason for that is former Washington State quarterback John Mateer, who is the new sheriff in town in the Sooners' starting QB role.

McElroy, who was quarterback at Alabama from 2007-10 and led the Crimson Tide to the BCS national championship in 2010, believes the Sooners will be one of the most improved teams in college football this coming season because of what Mateer and new offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle bring to an Oklahoma offense that spun its wheels most of last season.

Mateer was considered the best quarterback in the transfer portal this offseason. On his "Always College Football" podcast recently, McElroy went even bolder in his high praise for Mateer, ranking him the second-best quarterback in college football for the 2025 season

ESPN analyst deems Mateer second-best QB in college football

Only Clemson QB Cade Klubnk ranked above Mateer, according to McElroy. That's among a list of top-10 quarterbacks that included Grant Nussmeier of LSU, Drew Allar of Penn State, Miami's Carson Beck (a two-time national championship quarterback at Georgia), LaNorris Sellars at South Carolina and Florida's DJ Lagway. Notably, Arch Manning of Texas, a favorite to win the Heisman Trophy, wasn't included in McElroy's top-10 quarterbacks for 2025.

"I think part of the reason Ben Arbuckle is at Oklahoma is that John Mateer and him was a package deal," McElroy said on the podcast... "When (Mateer) is dialed in, he has some unstoppable qualities. He looks on the surface like he is crazy competitive. He is a guy that is really athletic, and I think he is a lot faster than you realize.

"I think he's amazing. I think he's really, really good," McElroy continued in his praise of Mateer. "I think Oklahoma has a star in the making and could be poised for a tremendous bounce back offensively if they can stay healthy at wide receiver."

McElroy compared Mateer to a "more run-heavy Baker Mayfield."

"He can't quite carve you up from the pocket like Mayfield could," McElroy said, "but man, (Mateer) can kill you with his legs."

In addition to throwing for 3,139 yards and 29 touchdowns with only seven interceptions last season running Arbuckle's system at Washington State, Mateer also ran for 826 yards and 15 touchdowns. That's 251 more yards than Oklahoma's leading rusher (Jovantae Barnes) last season.

The big unknown at this point is whether Mateer can recreate the outstanding season he had last fall at Washington State going up against the much tougher defenses he will encounter in the SEC.

Mateer will have the advantage of being surrounded by a more talented supporting cast at Oklahoma than he had at Wazzu, and experience at the postion and in the offensive system will definitely be on his side. But there is little question that the level of competition will be higher and the schedule more taxing.

The answers will all start to unfold less than days from now.

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