Redshirt senior quarterback John Mateer has been working diligently to improve his throwing mechanics after dealing with a thumb injury last season.
Mateer averaged 304 passing yards through the first four games of the season before hurting his right thumb against Auburn in September. In the first game after injury, former Sooner quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. started in his place before Mateer returned to average 209 passing yards per game for the remainder of the season.
Mateer side-armed his throws more often in the back half of the season, but according to quarterbacks coach John Kuceyeski, he has worked to break the habit in the 2026 offseason and have more over-the-top motion.
“Everybody wants you to go from here to here (quickly), and that's not going to happen. … Everything is gradual,” Kuceyeski said. “And if we can just start to get the arm angle (over the top) more consistently, that's going to be great. But it's not going to be something we're just going to change overnight. … He's done a great job with that. He trains the heck out of that between the feet and the arm angle, (which are) really the two kinds of operational quarterback-play things we really work on.”
Kuceyeski added that nailing superb throwing form starts from the bottom and extends to the top and that the offseason represents the best time to work on the fundamentals.
“The biggest thing is his foundation, his platform, growing from a great platform, having consistency in his drops in his pockets, and he dedicated himself to that, …” Kuceyeski said. “Obviously, it's the one time of year you can really work the kinesthetic bottom half and just really drill it.”
While Mateer, despite the drop in passing numbers, was never inclined to complain about the injury, those around him recognized that it had an effect. Kuceyeski has noticed his thumb healing in the offseason and his throws becoming smoother.
“He had to get creative a little bit because of the grip,” Kuceyeski said. “And he'll never make an excuse, and we won't make an excuse for him. (But) just some of the feelings of that and just the way he could grip the ball, he lost a little bit of that strength of the thumb, and he had to (adjust) because naturally, when you go with that angle and with that thumb, that ball's going to go. It's going to go in bad places if you're not really possessing that ball. And I think he's definitely feeling a lot better. He made a throw last practice in a movement throw that I haven't seen him make in a long time, and you can just see the confidence in his eyes.”
When Mateer was in the toughest times of injury management, he never shied away from accountability either. Kuceyeski said that the quarterback would be open about when he felt he should have thrown better on a play, whether the breakdown in schemes was tied to his health or judgement or someone else’s.
“There are times, honestly, because of the fan base and because of the expectations of the SEC, I'm like, 'Man, I almost wish he wouldn't,' but that's who he is,” Kuceyeski said. “And I know that the (NFL) GMs that watch these clips and watch these interviews, they're going to see someone that always takes ownership. A lot of time, (it) ain’t going to be his fault too. … He's always going to think he can do more, and I love him for that.”
Kuceyeski has been by Mateer’s side since January 2023 when they were at Washington State, and the quarterback had come off his redshirt season. He helped Mateer go from recording 235 passing yards in a backup role in the 2023 season to 3,139 in 2024 as the leader of the No. 6 offense in the nation. Now, after Mateer recorded 2,885 passing yards in 2025 amid health troubles, Kuceyeski helps him take the next step as a Southeastern Conference quarterback.
“He's grown up a lot, …” Kuceyeski said. “I'm just really proud of (how) he's very process-driven. And it's always going to be a process, and that's what's going to give him success.”
