Oklahoma State WR name-drops John Mateer in premature QB take

New Oklahoma State wide receiver Chris Barnes is name-dropping Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer in his case for his new quarterback being the best he's ever played with, but he definitely doesn't have the evidence to prove anything.

A complete overhaul at Oklahoma State under new head coach Eric Morris included a load of new transfers, including Barnes and quarterback Drew Mestemaker, who followed Morris from North Texas. Like the Sooners, the Cowboys are also in the midst of spring camp and getting acclimated to new teammates, and when asked about the third QB1 of his career, Barnes boldly claimed in a viral clip that none of his previous passers top Mestemaker based on a few practices.

Chris Barnes mentions John Mateer in case for Drew Mestemaker

"He's the best quarterback I've played with so far. For sure," Barnes said. "I've played with John Mateer, played with Robby Ashford at Wake Forest, but I feel like as me actually playing, I feel like Drew will be the best quarterback that I've played with."

Barnes just stating Mestemaker as the best he's played with wouldn't have drawn any attention, but when names are mentioned, comparisons are immediately made and caught the attention of OU fans looking to defend their QB1.

Mestemaker led all of college football last season with 4,379 passing yards as a freshman, which made him one of the top quarterbacks in the Transfer Portal over the offseason. However, he put up those numbers while competing through a Group of Six schedule, so the jury is still out. And even with Mestemaker at Oklahoma State now, there's still not much of an upgrade on the schedule as it's closer to a Group of Six slate than what Mateer faces on a weekly basis in the SEC.

Mateer made a dramatic jump last year from Washington State, which also had a Group of Six slate, to the daunting SEC. The adjustment didn't seem to be an issue for Mateer, though, until he broke the thumb on his throwing hand and needed surgery, which influenced an overall disappointing season after getting to OU as the No. 1 quarterback in the portal. He still led the Sooners to the College Football Playoff, though.

In his final season at Washington State against a level of competition similar to what Mestemaker faced at North Texas, Mater led the country with 44 total touchdowns as a quarterback who can do it all. But, again, no matter what Mestemaker accomplishes this season, it's still not a fair comparison to what Mateer does against SEC competition.

This is an apples-to-oranges comparison by Barnes, who likely just wants to boost his new teammate. He also doesn't really have enough experience with either to be able to judge. He's had a few practices with Mestemaker, and he caught only two passes for 19 yards from Mateer in three games before transferring to Wake Forest. Consider this a baseless accusation.