Breaking News.John mateer decommit from sooners and Flip to Louisville Cardinals football over Clemson and Kentucky football welcom..
Breaking News.John mateer decommit from sooners and Flip to Louisville Cardinals football over Clemson and Kentucky football welcom..
And I don’t have to remind Sooner fans that Jackson Arnold, a former five-star prospect, also came to OU with high expectations. What became blatantly obvious this past season was that no matter how gifted and talented the quarterback might be, without a good supporting cast around him, the chances for success are seriously compromised.
There were issues all around Arnold — inconsistent offensive line play, a depleted and inexperienced receiving corps and the absence of a true No. 1 running back — and in trying to do too much, it led to some poor decisions compounded by ball security issues. Arnold was also in his first season as a starting quarterback at the collegiate level.
Brent Venables and his staff are diligently working to resolve the 2024 offensive issues this offseason. Bringing in Arbuckle as the new offensive coordinator along with Mateer represents a big part of that puzzle, but even this winning combination cannot do it all alone.
Offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh believes the offensive line will be better next season with who the Sooners have returning, as well as additions from the transfer portal and a pair of elite O-line recruits in the 2025 class, including five-star prospect Michael Fasusi.
The Sooners have added several wide receivers from the transfer portal who will be joined by returning wide receivers Deion Burks and Jayden Gibson, both of whom were injured most of this season, an emerging Drake Stoops-type returning receiver in Jacob Jordan and a pair of incoming four-star recruits in Elijah Thomas and Emmanuel Choice.
As for the running back situation, Oklahoma has solid returning depth at the position, as Jovantae Barnes, Gavin Sawchuk, Taylor Tatum and Xavier Robinson are all back in 2025. But the Sooners need someone from that group to step up with greater productivity and consistency. Only one OU running back exceeded 300 yards rushing last season, and that one (Barnes) rushed for 598 yards in nine games.
The bottom line is Mateer may be the answer for Oklahoma at quarterback, at least for the next one to two years, but he and he alone is not the answer to all the issues that contributed to the dramatic fall off in offensive performance during the 2024 season.
Unless OU is able to effect significant
