John Mateer has all eyes on him as his decision looms. The good thing is there won’t be any shortage of options as he looks for a new home — potentially. He received a rumored offer from Washington State in the $1 million range.
But it may not be enough to keep Mateer in Pullman as an SEC team is desperate to land Mateer. So desperate, there’s a rumored $3 million on the table for him to move halfway across the country.
The SEC powerhouse in discussion isn’t the only SEC school looking to take a chance at Mateer. One team out is Auburn as they landed Jackson Arnold, who departed Oklahoma when the portal opened.
Here’s all the rumors surrounding Mateer as the top transfer portal prospect eyes a landing spot for next season.
Oklahoma rumored to have Hail Mary offer on the table to reunite John Mateer with Ben Arbuckle
Oklahoma could be overselling themselves as they try to get Mateer’s signature before the transfer portal window closes. The biggest pitch, aside from a rumored $3 million pledge according to 247sports, is that the Sooners grabbed Ben Arbuckle from the Cougars after the season ended.
Because of that, the Sooners may not have to cough up Ohio State-level money to interest Mateer in moving to Norman. But it doesn’t hurt to spend the money if you have it, to ensure no one else out-negotiates you.
Again nothing is official, even if it’s not Oklahoma that’s throwing the money around. If it isn’t, they may not be able to convince Mateer to come to Norman. Who that school is, is unknown. Nonetheless, SEC schools are intrigued by Mateer.
For good reason too. Mateer threw for 3,139 yards with 29 passing touchdowns and seven interceptions. But what’s made his value skyrocket is his dual-threat ability. He rushed for 826 yards and 15 touchdowns as well.
It’s the type of thing that warrants a $3 million offer. Oklahoma better hope they’re the only ones to have that kind of money on the table. Because if Mateer opts for another team not named Oklahoma, it would be Brent Venables biggest flop.
Is Mario Cristobal looking to strengthen the quarterback pipeline between Miami and Washington State?
Miami seems like the other obvious team Mateer could end up at. If nothing more, the last time Cristobal went after a Washington State quarterback they ended up being a Heisman finalist. Cam Ward took college football by storm this year.
He came in with a lot of potential, working his way to being the No. 4 quarterback in last year’s portal class. He quickly became a top quarterback in the country and nearly led Miami to the College Football Playoff.
Cristobal should be chomping at the bit to get Mateer. If nothing more, his best selling pitch is he turned Ward into the No. 2 quarterback prospect in the NFL Draft, according to Mel Kiper, and can absolutely do the same with Mateer.
Sure the ACC isn’t comparable to the SEC. But who’s to say Mateer doesn’t spend a season at an ACC school before leaping to SEC stardom. The good thing with Mateer is he has two years left of eligibility. He could not only develop, but has multiple chances to prove himself.
If Oklahoma can’t get the deal done, it could be because Miami won Mateer over. This feels very much like the two schools that are duking it out for Mateer.
The Big Ten is keeping an eye on Mateer and one school could look to monopolize the quarterback market
Sherrone Moore and Michigan are doing their best to monopolize the quarterback market. They already stole the No. 1 overall prospect in the Class of 2025 from LSU in Bryce Underwood. Now, according to 247sports, they are interested in Mateer too?
This seems like a situation where Moore isn’t ready to throw a true freshman to the wolves so he’d look for a bridge option for a year. This would give Underwood the chance to grow and not hold the team back.
The one thing that makes Mateer an attractive candidate to the Wolverines, specifically, is his mobility. Moore obviously likes having dual-threat quarterbacks with Alex Orji making cameos on quarterback designed runs throughout the season when he wasn’t starting.
With Mateer, he’d have a bonafide passer that is just as dangerous as a runner. Maryland transfer Billy Edwards Jr. was linked to the Wolverines, but announced his commitment to Wisconsin on Monday evening. Because of that, Moore could join the Mateer sweepstakes.
Along with Michigan, Curt Cignetti is linked to maybe luring Mateer as well. This makes sense as Cignetti hit a gold mine with Kurtis Rourke. He believes in the portal, especially as he looks to get his own recruits within the program.
Cignetti proved how beneficial the portal can be when you get the right guys. So naturally, as Rourke potentially ends up in the NFL, Mateer could be in line to replace him. It would seem like a long shot more than anything, but according to 247sports, the Hoosiers have been linked to Mateer.
Other SEC schools are inquiring about John Mateer as he closes in on final decision
Oklahoma isn’t the only SEC team interested in Mateer, per 247sports. Apparently both Vanderbilt and Missouri could inquire about him, each for similar but different reasons.
For Vanderbilt, they had a season not many expected. Sure the hype of their upset win over Alabama quickly dissipated, but they showed promise. And that could be intriguing to Mateer. Vanderbilt would be a good spot in the sense of he’d get the SEC experience without the pressure.
He’s essentially a more evolved version of Diego Pavia so him fitting into the offense shouldn’t be a problem. That said, the Commodores aren’t the most attractive team in the SEC so that’s more speculative than anything.
Same with Missori. The Tigers are probably in a worse position than Vanderbilt simply because they lost a lot from this year’s team, which underperformed, mind you. Missouri would pull off the greatest heist of college football if they landed Mateer.
But that’s what makes this time of year fun, you’re never, truly wrong until a player signs. Because if there’s one thing NIL has taught us, it's that anything can happen and no option is off the table.