John Mateer: Preseason scouting report on the Oklahoma QB

USA Today

5 days ago

Mateer is exciting to watch, but is his play style sustainable?
Mateer is an exceptional athlete with good speed and quickness to be a problem in space; however, his passing ability leaves much to be desired.
He's smaller at 6'1' and 224 pounds, but that allows him to be shifty in the pocket. His awareness in traffic is just average, as he'll let the pocket compress and engulf him, but there are flashes of brilliance where he finds daylight in tight spaces.
His overall passing ability is below average. Washington State's Air Raid offense, with its quicker, in-rhythm throws, set up well for Mateer, but he rarely had legitimate dropbacks where he had to process the defense.
Check out my full John Mateer preseason report and grade on my Substack.
His arm strength and accuracy are average, with the latter barely getting there. He can get adequate zip on the ball from a clean pocket with a solid base. His more impressive moments came on deeper throws, but too often these balls would fade.
His accuracy is barely average. He had way too many misses on easier short or intermediate routes, so it's tough to nail down an area of the field where he excels. His anticipation and processing are also areas of concern. His internal clock is all over the place, and leaves a lot of yards on the field by holding on too long or missing open receivers.
Mateer is at his best operating in chaos outside the pocket, and while his accuracy is slightly better when he has clear throwing lanes, his arm strength dips when he's off platform.
He's highly effective as a ball carrier. Mateer has good hip wiggle and speed to make bigger defenders miss in space. He's not fast enough to be a consistent ground threat at the next level, but he'll make college defenses pay.
Overall, Mateer is an exciting college quarterback who makes things happen in chaos and is a threat with his legs. However, it's tough to imagine his game translating to the NFL...or even the SEC.