Newest Oklahoma QB gets high transfer grade from CBS Sports

Oklahoma landed the top overall player in the transfer portal on Wednesday but how did CBS Sports rank the Sooners new addition.

The Oklahoma Sooners landed the top overall player in the NCAA [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag] on Wednesday.

Former Washington State quarterback [autotag]John Mateer[/autotag] signed with OU and coach [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag]. In doing so, he followed his former offensive coordinator, [autotag]Ben Arbuckle[/autotag], to Norman.

Simply put, Mateer was the guy Oklahoma had to have. Without him, OU wouldn’t have had a veteran option at the position. Now, the Sooners have their QB and offensive play caller in place for a make-or-break season in 2025. Even better is the fact they’ve worked well together before.

As the top quarterback in the portal, it was only a matter of time before his move to OU landed on a list of the most notable transfer portal quarterback moves. CBS Sports staff writer Will Backus produced such a list, and he gave Oklahoma’s signing of Mateer an A-plus.

Mateer is following his offensive coordinator, Ben Arbuckle, to Norman. In 2024, those two produced 3,965 total yards of offense and a whopping 44 touchdowns both on the ground and through the air. Mateer also completed an impressive 65% of his passes while averaging just over 14 yards per completion. It’s appropriate to feel quite bullish on Mateer’s future with Oklahoma. – Backus, CBS Sports

Aside from Mateer landing at Oklahoma, only Devon Dampier (Utah), Darian Mensah (Duke) and Miller Moss (Louisville) earned “A” grades. None, however, graded above Mateer. Of course, Backus’ list is in no way comprehensive: The portal will be open until Dec. 28.