Oklahoma general manager Jim Nagy has looked around every corner to use the Transfer Portal to fill all the holes in the Sooners' 2026 roster, but there still seems to be one spot he left vacant.
The eventual return of starting quarterback John Mateer ultimately forced out backup Michael Hawkins Jr., and although Hawkins has a new home at West Virginia, the Sooners haven't found his replacement yet to avoid another near-disaster like this past season.
Oklahoma still without John Mateer's backup
With Hawkins gone, now behind Mateer are Whitt Newbauer, Jett Niu and Bowe Bentley. None have real Power Four experience, with Niu and Bentley having never taken a college snap at all as freshmen. Hawkins wasn't impressive as QB2, but he was at least serviceable, and right now, that can't confidently be said about any of the guys behind Mateer if he goes down again.
Newbauer, who will be a redshirt sophomore, transferred to OU last spring from Mercer, where he made seven starts in 2024 as a freshman. He completed 56.4% of his passes for 1,398 yards and 12 touchdowns with four interceptions at the FCS level. He then played some garbage time for the Sooners this season, completing two of four passes for six yards, with three of those attempts coming against Kent State.
Niu didn't see the field while redshirting after being a last-minute addition to the 2025 signing class as the Sooners were scrambling for a quarterback for the group. He was originally committed to Oklahoma State as a consensus three-star recruit with few Power Four offers.
Newbauer and Niu were both desperation adds when there were little options in the crunch time of recruitment. Newbauer was added from the portal last year because the Sooners needed a garbage-time QB to maintain Hawkins' redshirt after recent Western Carolina transfer Cole Gonzales abruptly bolted in the spring. Niu slid in after Kevin Sperry flipped his commitment less than a month before signing.
Bentley is the future at QB for the Sooners, but not yet as a 2026 four-star signee. According to the 247Sports Composite, he's the No. 6 QB in the 2026 class and No. 68 overall prospect. Bentley could one day be a great QB1, but immediately throwing him out to SEC defenses if Mateer goes down could stunt what he could really evolve into at Oklahoma.
That makes Newbauer the Sooners' best option if Mateer needs a replacement again, unless they hit the portal, but once again, options are dwindling and a Mateer injury could leave OU in a worse spot than 2025.