UPDATED: Washington State QB John Mateer Has Entered the Transfer Portal

Mateer hails from just across the Red River in Little Elm, TX, and broke out this year under new Sooners offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle.

Washington State quarterback John Mateer / James Snook-Imagn Images

Oklahoma needs a quarterback — and the Sooners’ top target is set to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal.

According to multiple reports, John Mateer, who had a breakout season in his first year as a starter at Washington State, is now headed to the portal with two years of eligibility remaining.

Mateer studied under Ben Arbuckle, who was hired on Dec. 2 by Brent Venables as Oklahoma’s new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. 

While Oklahoma won’t be the only school to target Mateer, it is now believed he's almost definitely headed to OU. A screenshot of a text message from Mateer sent in a group text to Washington State players has been shared on social media, and Monday morning, 247 Sports network affiliate CougFan.com reported that it had independently verified the authenticity of the screenshot through a WSU player.

/ screenshot

CougFan also reported from an unidentified source that "an unnamed SEC school" offered Mateer an NIL package of about $3 million, which is "about three times higher" than what Washington State was believed to have been offering.

Schools and their representatives are prohibited from contacting or negotiating with players from other schools before they have officially filed the paperwork to enter the transfer portal. The text message allegedly from Mateer clearly indicates he is taking "one of the opportunities offered to me by another school" before officially entering the portal.

Mateer also told his teammates, "I won't be able to play in the bowl game." Washington State takes on Syracuse on Dec. 27 in the Holiday Bowl. He would also be ineligible to play in Oklahoma's bowl game on Dec. 27.

On Monday, WSU coach Jake Dickert met with media in Pullman and confirmed that Mateer will be leaving Wazzu.

Here is WSU coach Jake Dickert on John Mateer entering the transfer portal pic.twitter.com/4j8p9nj0wU

— Greg Woods (@GregWWoods) December 16, 2024

"Met with John last night," Dickert said. "He came back from his sister's graduation; had a lot of good family time. We talked about that last Friday; he has to make a big decision on his life, and college football is in a different place than it was five years ago,10 years ago. ... John will be the most sought-after player in the portal. I think he's gonna be the best player in the country next year.

"He informed us that he is, in fact, gonna hit the portal. ... He told me how he felt about us and how he felt about our program. Obviously disapointed. Disappointed. It's a tough result. Really thankful for Cougs everywhere that poured into everything that it took to try to keep him here. But at the end of the day, he wanted to play on a bigger stage."

Mateer leads the nation this season with 268 total points accounted for and 44 total touchdowns (rushing and passing). Mateer ranks 18th in passing yards (261.9 per game), 72nd in rushing yards (68.8 per game) and fifth in total offense (330.4 yards per game).

With Arbuckle coaching QBs and calling plays in Pullman, Mateer was spectacular in leading the Cougars to an 8-4 record against an Independent/Mountain West Conference schedule. 

Mateer, a third-year sophomore, completed 64.6 percent of his passes for 3,139 yards with 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also netted 826 yards rushing and 15 touchdowns this season as a true dual-threat QB. His 2024 rushing total currently ranks sixth in the nation among quarterbacks and 62nd nationally overall.

In addition to playing again for Arbuckle, Mateer might also favor OU so he can enjoy being closer to home. Mateer grew up in North Texas and was a four-year starter at Little Elm High School, just 166 miles south of Norman.

At Little Elm, The 6-foot-1, 219-pound Mateer was a 247 Sports and ESPN 3-star prospect and was a 2-star prospect by Rivals (On3 did not have him ranked). ESPN rated him as the No. 14 dual-threat quarterback in the 2022 class, while 247 Sports rated him No. 121.

In his high school career, Mateer passed for 7,060 yards and 66 touchdowns and also rushed for 1,223 yards and 22 TDs. As a junior, Mateer threw for a school-record 2,268 yards, including a school-record 497 yards against Allen High School. As a senior he broke that mark when he was named District 5-6A Offensive Player of the Year and was a unanimous pick for first-team All-District after throwing for 2,449 yards and 23 TDs and running for 847 yards and 15 scores.

At Washington State, Mateer played in one game as a true freshmen (he went 2-for-2 with a touchdown pass in a win at Stanford) and, as Cam Ward’s backup in 2023, played in all 12 games as a redshirt freshman.

In 2023, Mateer was 13-of-17 for 235 yards with two TDs and one interception and also rushed 20 times for 61 yards and three touchdowns. He also caught two passes for 14 yards. 

As Arbuckle’s starter this season, Mateer’s exploits included 352 yards passing and five touchdowns against Portland State, 390 yards and four TDs against San Jose State, 327 yards and two TDs against playoff-bound Boise State, 295 yards and three TDs against Hawaii, 257 yards and two scores against San Diego State, 375 yards and four TDs against New Mexico, and 250 yards and two TDs against Oregon State. He threw at least one touchdown pass in 11 of the Cougars’ 12 games.

Mateer was a true dual-threat, too, with 197 rushing yards and a touchdown against Texas Tech and 111 yards and a TD against San Jose State. In fact, his lowest rushing output this season was 28 yards against Boise State. He rushed for at least 50 yards in eight games (his total before sacks was 1,057), and had at least one rushing TD in all but one game.

After Jackson Arnold’s exit through the transfer portal, Oklahoma goes into bowl season — the Sooners play Navy in the Armed Forces Bowl on Dec. 27 in Fort Worth — with just three quarterbacks on the roster: true freshman Michael Hawkins, seventh-year senior Casey Thompson and redshirt freshman walk-on Steele Wasel.

Hawkins played in six games this season and made starts against Auburn, Texas and South Carolina. He completed 48-of-77 passes for 536 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, and rushed 52 times for 143 yards and a touchdown with one fumble. When Arnold had turnover problems against Tennessee, Hawkins came off the bench to spark a rally with two fourth-quarter touchdowns. The following week at Auburn, he led OU to its inaugural SEC victory with a 48-yard touchdown run to open the game and a 50-yard pass to start another fourth-quarter rally.

Thompson, a former starter at Texas, Nebraska and Florida Atlantic, took just one snap this season — the final kneel down in the victory over Alabama.

Wasel, from Choctaw, OK, has not played in 2024. Wasel began his college career at Akron before transferring to OU last summer.

Being close to home and playing for Arbuckle are no doubt appealing for Mateer, but when his entry into the portal becomes official, he’ll be one of the hottest commodities in this year's market.

Mateer’s current NIL package at Washington State has been valued at close to $400,000 (unconfirmed). Cougars coach Jake Dickert said recently he’s had “really good” conversations with Mateer about staying. Players can enter their name into the portal and openly communicate and negotiate with other schools, and can then withdraw their name from the portal and stay at their current school if they wish.

“We’ve done an amazing job of putting together a package for John that I think is fair, and he knows his value here,” Dickert said. “He knows how much he’s loved. I think it really means something for him to be here. I don’t take that for granted. I also take a step back and want to mentor him, want to help him, want to navigate him through this. The talks have been really, really positive, and we’ll continue to navigate that as they go.”

The NCAA Transfer Portal is open for 20 days. Players who enter their name into the portal before it closes on Dec. 28 are eligible to play next season. Players can also transfer during the spring portal window, April 16-25.