Brent Venables confirms that John Mateer will remain Oklahoma’s starting quarterback
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Oklahoma’s 2-2 start to the 2026 season has been tough for the Sooner faithful to watch at times, and they’ve expressed their frustrations primarily with veteran quarterback John Mateer.
The former Washington State transfer was expected to take major steps forward after putting a year of SEC experience under his belt and dealing with a hand injury that ailed him last year.
But instead, the OU offense has failed to eclipse the 14-point mark since Week 1, and the team’s College Football Playoff hopes seem slim to none as a result.
With doubts beginning to creep in about the trajectory of this Sooners team, Brent Venables emphasized during the bye week that he has his signal-caller’s back.
As On3’s George Stoia reported, Venables told media Wednesday that Mateer will remain the team’s starting quarterback, with him adding that backups Whitt Newbauer and Bowe Bentley have been getting reps in practice the same as they have all season.
While Venables may still have confidence in his guy, Mateer’s rough start to the campaign has caused many to think the opposite. The senior has thrown 4 interceptions and taken 7 sacks in his past 3 games, and outside of a 22-yard scamper against Michigan, Mateer’s legs have rarely been a threat this season.
With the likes of Texas, Mississippi State, Florida, Ole Miss and Missouri populating the rest of Oklahoma‘s schedule, Venables & Co. need the gunslinger they brought in from Pullman to resurface, lest the grumbling will continue to get louder.
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Parker is currently the sports editor for Gulf Coast Media in Foley, Alabama. He's a graduate from Mizzou who has experience covering the Tiger football and basketball beats for SB Nation, and he's worked for a variety of sports news outlets in the past.
