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USA Today
03-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
On3 analyst thinks John Mateer shares similarities with No. 1 overall draft pick
On3 analyst thinks John Mateer shares similarities with No. 1 overall draft pick When the Oklahoma Sooners landed former Washington State quarterback John Mateer in the transfer portal last December, it was a massive win for head coach Brent Venables. After a 6-7 season in 2024, OU knew they needed an upgrade under center, and they got one with the portal's top overall player. On3 Sports college football analyst J.D. PicKell, who has been very complimentary of the Sooners this offseason, was at it again this week. He appeared on "The Paul Finebaum Show" where the host, ESPN's Paul Finebaum, asked him about Mateer's impact in Norman in 2025. PicKell likened OU's new starting QB to the No. 1 overall pick in last week's 2025 NFL Draft, Cam Ward. "Oklahoma, to me, I think will make the most impressive leap from what they were last year to this year," PicKell said. "This time last year Paul, if you talk to people close to Miami, they were beating their chest telling you, 'Hey Cam Ward is a dude. Cam Ward is gonna be a dawg this year.' They weren't tippy-toeing around it, they weren't saying maybe he'll be good. They're saying the same kind of thing right now around John Mateer in Norman, Oklahoma. So I'm not saying he's gonna win the Heisman Trophy, I'm not saying he's gonna be the number one overall pick, but the way they speak about John Mateer, the confidence they speak about John Mateer with, I'm very, very excited to watch him continue what he did in Pullman, Washington with Ben Arbuckle running the show in Norman." Of course, there's precedent for what Sooner Nation hopes Mateer can do this year. After all, Ward played in Arbuckle's system for one year at Washington State in 2023 before transferring to Miami for the 2024 season. Even with the step up in competition, Ward shined with the Hurricanes. He became a Heisman Trophy finalist and was selected with the top overall choice by the Tennessee Titans last week. Now, Sooner fans hope that Mateer can replicate that formula. He'll have the benefit of having Arbuckle in his ear again after a breakout 2024 season with the Cougars. Oklahoma brought in both Arbuckle and Mateer to try and fix a broken offense. PicKell also told Finebaum that in looking at Oklahoma's schedule, he believes that the Sooners could have the best quarterback in the stadium in up to 10 of the 12 games. Only South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers and LSU's Garrett Nussmeier were players that PicKell believed could definitely beat Mateer in an all-out QB duel. That included him taking Mateer over Texas' Arch Manning, Auburn's Jackson Arnold and Ole Miss' Austin Simmons. But PicKell wasn't done complimenting Mateer this week. On his own show, "The Hard Count with J.D. PicKell", he outlined that he believes Oklahoma fans are back to having a QB at the controls that they can trust. "This with John Mateer is not that with (former OU starting QB) Jackson Arnold ... I think that John Mateer and what he is going into this upcoming season is a vastly different story," PicKell said. PicKell went on to explain that Mateer is a much more proven commodity heading into his first season as the starter in Norman than Arnold was a year ago at this time, and that too much may have been expected of Arnold without enough help around him in 2024 under OC Seth Littrell. "Last year Jackson Arnold was working with an offensive coordinator he had never worked with before ... also the offensive coordinator he worked with hadn't called plays since 2015," PicKell said. "That's very different than working with a coordinator that you had success with a year ago, had a top-15 offense at Washington State. Ben Arbuckle, John Mateer, handshake emoji, we're not picking up at the same spot. There's very different jumping-off points there." PicKell also noted OU's 13 percent sack rate a season ago was a huge hindrance to offensive execution. He theorized that Mateer's dual-threat ability would have fared better than Arnold's did in those spots. He also made the case that Oklahoma's better situation offensively contributes to Mateer being a massive upgrade. "We'll see how this whole thing shakes out with, what's the offensive line looking like, and how do the weapons translate and stay healthy, all that is true," PicKell said. "But at a jumping-off point in May, there's a lot more to be confident in, there's a lot more to be secure about than what you had last year with Jackson Arnold .. John Mateer, it's just a very, very different beast." Mateer's arrival in Norman has already been met with plenty of fanfare, and he hasn't even played a game yet for the Sooners. After the way the quarterback position looked last year, OU fans are hoping they can trust again at the most important position on the field. Perhaps if Oklahoma has a really impressive leap from 2024 to 2025, it'll be because Mateer ended up following in Ward's footsteps and turned into one of the best players in all of college football.
USA Today
07-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
On3 analyst thinks this is Oklahoma's best offseason move
On3 analyst thinks this is Oklahoma's best offseason move New Oklahoma Sooners general manager Jim Nagy was, simply put, a slam dunk hire. The former executive director of the Reese's Senior Bowl was a scout in the NFL for 18 years and is helping bring a progressive new structure to OU Football. Following two losing seasons in three years after zero losing seasons over the previous 23, the Sooners have to get better at playing the name, image, likeness, and transfer portal game prevalent in the current landscape of college football. Otherwise, they could fall further behind. Jim Nagy is now tasked with getting the Sooners to the forefront. On3 Sports college football analyst J.D. PicKell, who hosts "The Hard Count with J.D. PicKell", believes that the Nagy hire is OU sending a message to the rest of college football. "This is a move you make when you're looking to the future, when you're adapting to modern college football," PicKell said. "This was a, I believe on paper at least, a home-run hire from the Sooners." PicKell lauded the move, but also said it sends a message that the Sooners are serious about competing in the new era of college football. "You don't go hire a guy who is interviewing for NFL GM jobs, unless you yourself are going to operate like an NFL organization," PicKell said. "If the output you want is to win at the highest level, what does that require? Probably gotta have pretty good players, probably gotta have one of the better rosters in college football." In the sport's new era, buying the best players typically leads to success. Just ask Ohio State. While Oklahoma doesn't have the deepest pockets in college football, they hope that the addition of Nagy can give them an advantage and get them back to the top; back to being Oklahoma. Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Aaron on X @Aaron_Gelvin.
USA Today
24-03-2025
- Business
- USA Today
College football analyst discusses USC's recruiting and NIL surge
College football analyst discusses USC's recruiting and NIL surge Chad Bowden continues to be a major focal point of discussion among college football recruiting analysts For the first few years of the NIL era, it seemed as though USC was struggling to adapt to the modern era of talent acquisition. Under new general manager Chad Bowden, however, it feels as though that has finally changed. A few months into Bowden's tenure, the Trojans have the No. 1 ranked recruiting class in the country for the 2026 cycle. By now, the national media is catching onto USC's rise on the recruiting and NIL fronts. On a recent episode of his college football show "The Hard Count", J.D. Pickell discussed the Trojans' recent developments in the NIL game. "[People are saying] 'Well they just bought their class'—if they are, dude, good," Pickell said. "I'd be concerned if they weren't buying their class." "Wasn't that always kind of the thing for USC? Wasn't that always the advantage? If you're telling me that the school in one of the most major cities in America—in Los Angeles—is going to have a chance to pay players? You better have a top class! You better be competing in that tier. "I think overall, USC is now operating at a different tier. And if NIL is a part of that, that's how it should be." USC fans are certainly hoping that the Trojans have figured out NIL enough that they will be able to keep their top-ranked recruiting class together through signing day in December. After several years in a row of disappointing results both on the field and in recruiting, USC fans are desperate for any sort of positive momentum, and landing one of the top recruiting classes in the country for the 2026 cycle would certainly provide that.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Could the Oklahoma Sooners actually benefit from their difficult schedule?
The Oklahoma Sooners have one of the hardest schedules in the country in 2025. It's not a stretch to say that OU's gauntlet is the toughest in America. According to ESPN SP+, the Sooners schedule is the most difficult in FBS. Year 4 under head coach Brent Venables and Year 2 in the Southeastern Conference is a pivotal season for the entire program. One college football analyst believes that if things fall right, the Sooners could actually benefit from their brutal schedule. On3 Sports' J.D. PicKell outlined on his show "The Hard Count with J.D. PicKell" just how teams like Oklahoma and the Florida Gators, who have extremely difficult schedules, could get some help in the long run. He began with non-conference schedules, highlighting OU's key matchup against the Michigan Wolverines. "If you win your non-conference games, you have a chance to take a massive narrative-shaper with you into that Selection Sunday," PicKell said. "So for that committee to look at Oklahoma and say they beat Michigan, that matters to us ... that stuff matters." The Sooners got a rough draw in their SEC conference schedule when they came into the league because they were so successful in the decade prior. The Sooners will face Auburn, Texas, South Carolina, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Alabama, Missouri, and LSU. Against that group of teams, Oklahoma went 2-6 in 2024. "If you go 9-3 with one of those schedules, it's my humble opinion that you should be graded on a curve," PicKell said. "I'm not saying the games don't matter. I'm saying how you look in your games and who you play should matter. The gauntlet they have is harder than everyone else in college football. You go 9-3 and things shake your way with the other chaos across college football, I think one of those teams (Oklahoma or Florida) gets in." A 9-3 record isn't the standard in Norman, Oklahoma. But, all things considered, most of Sooner Nation would likely be pretty happy with a mark like that, especially when looking at the gauntlet OU has to play and the fact that Oklahoma went 6-6 in the regular season last year. To improve by three wins, the Sooners have to get better across the board, especially on offense. New offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle and new starting quarterback John Mateer will have to have excellent seasons to get Oklahoma to nine wins. Going 9-3 would be a huge step forward for the program and Venables. It'd likely be enough to save his job, and if Pickell is correct, it could be enough to have the Sooners in the College Football Playoff, which would be a major accomplishment considering where OU was at the end of last season. This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: J.D. PicKell believes Oklahoma's schedule could actually benefit them
