If anyone knows the pressure of playing quarterback at the University of Oklahoma, it’s someone who has a statue outside the stadium.
With a massive season ahead of John Mateer in the crimson and cream, Baker Mayfield is in his corner providing experienced advice.
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Baker Mayfield, a former Oklahoma football quarterback, stopped in Norman last week for his annual football camp and spoke to the media about John Mateer, OU’s star senior quarterback ready to try and lead the Sooners to another College Football Playoff appearance.
Mayfield spent three seasons leading the Sooners to massive success, ending with a Heisman Trophy and a CFP appearance in his senior season.
He’s heralded as one of the best players to ever play in college football, which is a perfect mentor for Mateer to have entering his final season with the Sooners in the fall.
“I think from the first time I talked to John, you could tell he was kind of built different,” Mayfield said. “That’s an important piece to have when you come in and you’re trying to play quarterback here at this university. I thought he was insane when he came back to play against Texas, but that shows, you know, obviously he probably could have waited a little bit longer, but you can’t change it.
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“And he’s as tough as they come. And I think he wanted to be out there for his guys and in that game. I think it’s going to take him farther this year.”
Mateer’s toughness showed after his infamous thumb injury he sustained in the first SEC game of the season last year against Auburn that turned into a seasons-long saga from surgery to nagging pain.
Mateer told On3’s Wilson Alexander this past week that throughout the season, his injury was like, ‘throwing a baseball without two fingers.’
That continued throughout the year, but Mateer has emerged into the spotlight this week after his appearance at the Manning Passing Academy, where he showed off his revamped throwing motion with a healed throwing hand.
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“That’s not easy,” Mayfield said about Mateer’s willingness to play through the pain. “You’ve seen guys that can play with pinkies or some of the other fingers (injured), but having a thumb injury, that’s difficult. You talk about just getting the ball, feeling the snap first and foremost, and then trying to grip the ball and throw it correctly. It’s hard, but that speaks to his toughness and his will.”
Mateer being healthy entering 2026 is putting a lot of belief into Mayfield about the Sooners’ chances this season.
OU’s roster is primed for another big season, if it can get by the brutal start of the season where the Sooners play top teams in Michigan, Georgia and Texas away from home.
Mayfield said he believes in what OU coach Brent Venables is continuing to build in Norman, especially in the tough SEC.
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“I have a lot of faith,” Mayfield said. “Obviously, SEC ball is different. It’s week in, week out. You got to bring your A-game. There’s no weeks off there. And I have a lot of faith. Lost some really good players, but I think I know he knows how to recruit and bring guys in to fill those roles.
“And I think just with John going into another year and having chemistry with some of these guys… I think it’ll make them better in the long run and I think BV is going to have him going.”
