The Oklahoma Sooners offense should get a major boost with quarterback transfer John Mateer in the fold. How will the Tigers adapt?
This summer leading up to the 2025 season, we’ll be exploring the top 10 offensive and defensive players Mizzou football is slated to face this fall. We’re not ranking them 1-10, so while Jalon Daniels is a very good player, he’s not necessarily the best offensive player Corey Batoon will have to game plan for this upcoming season.
This is the third of (you guessed it) 10 such posts of the season. If you haven’t yet, take a look at the previous TTOP articles:
John Mateer
School: Oklahoma (by way of Washington State)
Position: QB
Class: RS Junior
Height: 6-1
Weight: 224 lbs.
Hometown: Little Elm, Texas
What he’s done
John Mateer spent the first three years of his collegiate career at Washington State where he redshirted and then played sparingly in his second year, passing 17 times for 235 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. 2024 saw Mateer break out into the national mainstream consciousness as he put up impressive numbers in his first year as a starter for the Cougars. Mateer proved he is a true dual threat, passing for 3,139 yards, 29 touchdowns and only seven interceptions while running 178 times for 826 yards and 15 more touchdowns.
While the schedule of teams independent Washington State played last year was hardly impressive (they only played one ranked team all year in Boise State, to whom they lost handily), Mateer proved to be a touchdown machine, racking up 44 of them to just 10 total turnovers. Mateer has an impressive arm and perhaps even more impressive legs, setting the Washington State program record for rushing yards by a quarterback.
Photo by Brian Murphy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
What he’ll do
After Mateer’s breakout campaign in 2024, he hopped in the portal to make good on his new-found fame. While he was one of the hottest quarterbacks on the market in the offseason, he quickly found a new home when he followed his offensive coordinator, Ben Arbuckle, to Oklahoma. The Sooners were looking to upgrade on Jackson Arnold, who himself transferred to Auburn just before Mateer’s arrival.
Rejoining forces with Arbuckle in Norman means Mateer will remain comfortable in the system he will play in under center. The dual threat quarterback should make it easier on the beleaguered Oklahoma offensive line to pass protect a more mobile signal caller. Mateer will benefit from an increase in talent, especially at the wide receiver position, over who he played with on the Palouse. Offense was the Sooners’ weak link last year and Mateer (and Arbuckle) should provide an instant upgrade to a squad that already boasts an impressive defense.
Mizzou matchup
The thrilling ending to the 2024 Mizzou-Oklahoma game overshadowed what was, for three and a half quarters at least, a really sloppy, defensive battle. Both offenses struggled all night, Mizzou under a back up quarterback and Oklahoma due to a RS freshman playing behind a terrible offensive line. The Sooners’ addition of Mateer and play caller Ben Arbuckle will make them a much more formidable opponent on both sides of the ball. Mateer’s ability to extend plays and burn man-to-man coverages with his legs makes it vital that Mizzou controls the running game with the front four so that the linebackers can play zone defense with their eyes constantly on Mateer. Simultaneously, the edge rushers will have to find ways to pressure Mateer without any blitzers as those players will be needed downfield in coverage.
Photo by Ragin’ Cajun Athletics/University Images via Getty Images
Jordan Lawson
School: Louisiana
Position: DE
Class: RS Senior
Height: 6-4
Weight: 243 lbs.
Hometown: Brandon, Miss.
What he’s done
The lone TTOP from Louisiana, Jordan Lawson is one of the more under-the-radar edge talents in the country. The rising senior has 13 career sacks to his name and poised to reach at least 20 by the time his career is done in Lafayette. Lawson has played significant snaps for the Ragin’ Cajuns in all three years since his redshirt season.
He’s tallied 108 total tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery to go along with his 13 career sacks. Lawson really came on strong toward the end of the 2024 season, tallying all 5.5 of sacks in November. This included a monster six tackle, 2.5 sack performance against Arkansas State. As a reward for his late-season surge, Lawson finished as second team all-Sun Belt performer behind first-round draft pick Mike Green at Marshall.
What he’ll do
In what seems a bit surprising considering the times, Lawson chose to return to Lafayette for his final season of eligibility. He would certainly have received a ton of interest from Power Four programs had he decided to enter the transfer portal, but to coach Michael Desormeaux’s delight, he is back for his sixth year in red and white.
Lawson is looking to build on his second team All-Sun Belt performance last year and he is poised to jump into first-team conversations with another big year. The edge rusher is well-built frame-wise and uses an impressive combination of power and speed to beat tackles and disrupt quarterbacks across the Sun Belt. With Mizzou as the only major conference opponent on the Ragin’ Cajuns’ schedule, Lawson should get plenty of opportunities to eat against less-talented tackles from the likes of Rice, McNeese State and the Arkansas State team he dominated last year.
Mizzou matchup
The Tigers welcome in Louisiana in the third week of the season which hopefully means they will have had two weeks to figure out who the starting tackles are for an offensive line unit that loses both to the NFL. If the Tigers are still shaky at either spot, Lawson is the type of player that can make a team pay. Regardless of the ability of the ultimate Mizzou starting tackles, Kirby Moore is going to have to find creative ways to keep Lawson off balance, or at least figure out where he is on the field every play and simply run to the other side. Louisiana’s defense doesn’t boast much other high-end talent so focusing on controlling Lawson should be their top priority when game planning the Ragin’ Cajuns.