John Mateer touts transformation after admitting Oklahoma 'failed' last season in CFP

Nothing was good last season, and that should just about cover everything. 

“All of it. We failed,” says Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer said. “I failed.”

Guess where change begins at Oklahoma in 2026, a season after Mateer arrived and the Sooners won 10 games and returned the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2019?

“It starts with me,” Mateer said. “I’ve raised my intensity.”

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So he got bigger and stronger to protect and fortify his body, because he sure wasn’t going to change his hell-bent style — even after it led to a thumb injury that affected much of Oklahoma’s bounce back season. 

He invested more in leadership, pushing himself and teammates to change and get better and smarter and mentally tougher — because it can’t end again by blowing a double-digit lead in the CFP. 

This is where we are with Mateer, 2.0. A year ago, he challenged the SEC as the nation’s No.1 player in the transfer portal, and let everyone know he was coming. They all passed on him as a high schooler in Dallas, he said. They were all going to pay for it.

Then he had breakout game against Michigan, then he sustained the thumb injury, and long story short, he threw a game-changing pick-six in a CFP loss to Alabama and that’s all that matters.

And now he’s digging out of a hole of failure.  

It’s here where we introduce Oklahoma coach Brent Venables, who’s not buying it. Mateer played well during his first season in the SEC, he says. He battled, he found ways to overcome limitations. 

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At the top of the list: the Sooners couldn’t run the ball, and didn’t exactly protect the quarterback.

You’re not winning critical games with a rush offense that’s 13th in the SEC, and averaging 3.5 yards per carry. You’re not getting out of the first round of the playing giving up 29 sacks with quarterback as mobile as Mateer. 

Throwing the ball is a three-pronged process. Protection, receivers running specific routes to the step and quarterbacks throwing on time with anticipation. 

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If any step breaks down, the odds of an incompletion or worse drastically increase. Now add a quarterback playing his first season in the SEC, with a September thumb injury on his throwing hand impacting velocity and accuracy every single throw — even after it healed enough to play.

“We have to be more aggressive, more physical,” Venables said. “We got to have belief. We got to have the toughness that goes along with it.”

That’s not some catchphrase, it’s an actionable directive. Oklahoma added four offensive linemen from the transfer portal to a group that started three freshmen. The entire unit was forced to reassess and change. 

Get better, get tougher, or lose your job.

So when Mateer talks about leadership, it begins in the weight room with the offensive line. Forget about skill guys, it’s the big dudes that will dictate his season. Lining up and lifting with offensive linemen, and going through the offseason grind together. 

He looks more like a linebacker now, his body reshaped and he’s mentality as driven as ever. The position is more than just throwing and running and making plays. It’s changing and adapting. 

He’s not interested in hearing about protection failures of last season, or how much better it could’ve been. He’s focused on the now. 

No more bold declarations of someone has to pay, no more redemption show. Failure humbles everyone, and reveals scars you can’t ignore. 

“It sucked, that’s the only way to explain it,” Mateer said. 

Now it’s time to dig out of the hole. 

Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB. Listen to him daily, from 12-2 p.m on 1010XL-Jacksonville.