John Mateer clearly transformed himself into a college football freak

Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer has evolved over the offseason, hopefully into an even better quarterback, but definitely into a college football freak. 

The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman on Monday released his annual “Freaks List” for 2026, and Mateer was included among the 101 athletes at No. 69. OU tight end Hayden Hansen, who just transferred from Florida, was also on the list at No. 59. 

The list isn’t necessarily made up of the best players in college football, but the ones that make people go, “Wow,” because, well, they’re freaks, whether that be in the weight room, athletically and even their build. It’s uncommon for a quarterback like Mateer to fall into that category. 

Bruce Feldman's 'Freaks List' further proof of John Mateer's viral transformation that can only help Sooners

"He might be the most jacked QB in the country, as his Instagram account attests," Feldman writes. "The 6-1, 224-pound senior is incredibly strong, especially in the lower body. This offseason, he did a front squat with 510 pounds. His agility times were quite good: 7.17 seconds in the 3-cone and 4.28 seconds in the 5-10-5. He hit 20.4 mph on the GPS and vertical jumped 32 inches."

Even just a few months ago, OU fans would have chuckled and asked, “How?” if they heard Mateer made a list of college football freaks. But after a well-documented physical transformation over the offseason, it’s no longer a surprise.

Read more: John Mateer went back to work and Oklahoma fans should already love the results

Mateer went viral on multiple occasions over the offseason because of his physical build and weight room feats. In some pictures, he looked more like a linebacker than a quarterback. And everybody took notice. 

College football fans first noticed when Mateer attended the Manning Passing Academy. He looked like a monster among the other top quarterbacks in the country, especially when standing next to guys like Texas quarterback Arch Manning. Since, Mateer has also posted pictures on his Instagram and media has shared pictures from the Sooners’ practices since fall camp started last week. 

There was also a video OU shared via X of Mateer front squatting what Feldman reported could have been up to 510 pounds. OU jokingly captioned the video “Not AI” because folks on social media were using AI to enhance Mateer’s muscles so much in different pictures that it became difficult to even know what was real. That’s kind of the point, though, is no matter how massive Mateer looked, fans could still believe it. 

Based on the weights OU has released, Mateer has gained six pounds while going from 218 to 224 since last season. He’s also still listed at 6-foot-1. The eye test, though, reveals a much bigger difference in Mateer. 

The biggest concern regarding Mateer physically, though, was his health after he broke his right thumb and needed surgery early last season. By all accounts, Mateer is back to 100%, and maybe even 110% based on his offseason transformation. 

The argument, especially from opposing fans, will be that muscles never really made a quarterback that much better, but it definitely doesn’t hurt when your QB1 is considered a college football freak.

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