All seems right in Sooner Nation when Oklahoma's quarterback is a Heisman Trophy contender.
With the 2024 college football season officially over, all focus has been turned to 2025 with Way-Too-Early rankings, 2025 College Football Playoff odds and even projections on who could be the best player in the country next season.
FanDuel released its first odds for the winner of the 2025 Heisman Trophy and included new Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer, who still hasn't played a snap yet with the Sooners. Mateer was given 1/25 odds (+2500) to win the Heisman Trophy at the end of next season.
Mateer was tied with Florida quarterback DJ Lagway for the 11th-best odds among every player FanDuel included. Texas quarterback Arch Manning and LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier had the best odds at +850.
Another oddsmaker also gave Mateer Heisman odds shortly after he transferred to Norman. Those odds will just keep coming the closer next season gets.
Although he hasn't suited up in crimson and cream yet, Mateer will already be familar with the system he'll be running at OU, attributing to his high preseason expectations. Brent Venables hired Ben Arbuckle away from Washington State to be the Sooners' new offensive corrdinator. Mateer then followed Arbuckle from Wazzu, where he was the Cougars' starting quarterback this past season.
As a sophomore, Mateer threw for 3,139 yards and 29 TDs while completing 64.9% of his passes in his first season as a starter. His ability to run also increases his Heisman Trophy chances, as he rushed for 826 yards and 15 scores.
Mateer's 44 total TDs were the most among all FBS players this season. Both of his passing stats were in the top 16 in the country, with his passing TD total at No. 9.
All that success had Mateer ranked as the No. 1 player available in the transfer portal this offseason before ultimately committing to the Sooners.
Mateer also would have likely been a serious Heisman contender in 2024 had he played for a different program like OU. The Cougars played a lackluster schedule as part of the two-team Pac-12 while usually playing late and on less popular networks, such as The CW. None of that situation promotes a star quarterback, even if he is scoring more than any other player in the country.
The Sooners already have a tradition of producing Heisman-winning quarterbacks, even if none have come under Venables. OU has had seven Heisman Trophy winners, with the last four being quarterbacks and two coming just since 2017.
Arbuckle also has a knack for producing stellar quarterbacks, which was a reason he attracted Venables during his offensive coordinator search.
The odds and formula are there for Mateer to win the Heisman Trophy in 2025, but now the play has to be.