Oklahoma star John Mateer returning to school for 2026

John Mateer is headed back to school.

Mateer, who just finished up his junior season at Oklahoma, will be returning to play his senior year with the Sooners, the program announced on X Thursday, alongside star linebacker Kip Lewis.

The 21-year-old was previously projected to go relatively high in the 2026 NFL Draft, with ESPN’s Mel Kiper ranking him as the No. 4 quarterback in the draft class if he had declared.

Mateer is coming off a season where he threw for 2,885 yards — completing 62.2 percent of his passes — with 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions through 12 games with Oklahoma.

Early in the season, Mateer fractured the thumb on his throwing hand during a game in September, but had a surprisingly quick recovery, missing just one game from the injury.

Mateer played a key role in the Sooners’ bounce-back season, where they finished with a 10-3 record and reached the College Football Playoff before losing to Alabama in the first round.

“He’s a warrior,” Venables said after Oklahoma’s 34-24 loss to Alabama on Dec. 20. “He’s got everything that you want in a competitor, in a leader, in a quarterback.”

Immediately following the game, Mateer said he was still contemplating on declaring for the draft, saying that he hadn’t thought about it.

“Yeah, I haven’t really thought about it yet,” Mateer said after the loss. “I’m pretty sure I’ll take some time and weigh all the options, and we’ll see.”

Mateer transferred to Oklahoma ahead of the 2025 season after having having a stellar sophomore campaign with Washington State, where he helped lead the program to an 8-4 record while leading the Pac-12 in passing yards (3,139) and touchdowns (29).