Dean Blevins: How Many Receivers Leaving OU? And Who Will Start At QB?

The inevitable news that Oklahoma is losing two key sophomore offensive players to the transfer portal is far from surprising.

Wednesday was embattled but gifted starting QB Jackson Arnold.

Thursday, it’s gifted receiver Nic Anderson. 

And I’ve learned the receiver-room exodus has just begun.

Just as we had hammered into our cerebellum that ‘elections have consequences,’ the same is true when a college football blueblood trots out an offense that was the least productive in Sooners history. Certainly, the most dysfunctional for the majority of the season. Anemic coordination from the jump, an offensive line that dominated Alabama but couldn’t protect Arnold longer than a nanosecond. And the most beat-up wide receiver room in history.

So anyone – and there are lots – who uses the statistics of Arnold to compare them with others – particularly potential OU transfer replacement John Mateer – either doesn’t understand how the QB’s surrounding cast is a massive factor in how effective of play you’ll see, or is part of the club that simply didn’t buy into Arnold all season.

The 2024 offense was a horde of touchdowns from being accurately described as ‘almost pedestrian’ -- not ideal for a first trip around a new conference flush with bodybuilders and sprinters who make up SEC teams that’d be favored by a touchdown over the J-E-T-S, Jets Jets Jets! When Arnold’s go-to guy ended up being a 5'9" walk-on true freshman who’d have normally not seen the field, you’ve got a problem, Houston.

Google the surrounding cast for former star Sooner QBs – Josh Heupel, Sam Bradford, Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, Caleb Williams, and even Dylan Gabriel, to a large degree.

The other distinct disadvantage working against Arnold was his second of three OU offensive coordinators during his two seasons was in over his head and, strategically, exponentially made the other problems greater (Top 5 receivers out, OL dysfunction and failures, and undependable tight end play).

The fact that the Sooners played arguably the most difficult schedule in school history. Good luck, Jackson. Go, fight, win.

His decision to transfer was expected after learning OU did not make a deal for Georgia Tech’s top-drawer offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner. Sources who either worked with Faulkner for years or played against him told me Buster was unable to strike a deal with Oklahoma primarily because he insisted on bringing multiple staff members with him. So theoretically, you go from the best coordinator in the market who would likely be able to convince Arnold to stay, to a strong candidate but “not up to Buster’s standards,” Washington State’s Ben Arbuckle.

And Arubuckle’s hire led Arnold out the door. The expectation is that the new coordinator will bring his star QB John Mateer with him to Oklahoma.

I directly asked three impeccable coach sources who know the abilities of both QBs, which one is better. All three quickly responded “Jackson Arnold.” (Here’s the place where the anti-Arnold faction comes unglued.)

Statistically, Arnold’s numbers were not good. Whereas Mateer, a 6'1", 210-pound redshirt sophomore, posted remarkable numbers – 3,129 pass yards and 29 TDs, 1,032 rush yards (if you take out sack yardage) with 15 more TDs.

Don’t get me wrong. Even though Mateer did not play against SEC defenses, the four games I reviewed saw him execute at an elite level as a dual-threat QB. My sources said he’s a “tough leader, competitive, who has a lot of room to grow as a passer.” The stat I like most about Mateer is his 58 forced missed tackles as a runner, with 22 runs of 15-plus yards.

So, who is going to quarterback the Oklahoma Sooners?

If Oklahoma can pony up the money and Arbuckle can convince him to head to Norman, Mateer’s the heavy favorite to start in 2025. Mike Hawkins flashed a lot of potential in getting time midseason and is a much different and explosive runner than Mateer. But not the passer. At least not now. But he’s young – starting in SEC games as a true freshman.

It's not expected that first-year QB Brendan Zurbrugg would win the job. And after losing its 2025 QB commit, the other QB is Jett Nui, OU’s lone QB signee in the ’25 class. Niu is 3-star, the 91st ranked QB, and 247’s 1,565th ranked recruit nationally. OU flipped him from O-State.

So ‘IF’ OU can snag Mateer, I’d rank him the favorite to start, with Hawkins next. And if OU can’t sign Mateer, they’ll search for the best option available in the transfer portal, a place OU does not need to be headed with having to play the same SEC teams next year, switching home venues. And remember, OU replaced the Temples with Michigan – a team that struggled after losing studs and its coach, Jim Harbaugh, but is good enough and deep enough with highly recruited players to upset Ohio State. The 2025 schedule demands that Oklahoma be a much better team to finish above .500, which is not where anyone from the head coach to the kid watching in Gotebo wants to consider.

I’ll report soon on all that I’ve learned and know about OU’s injured receivers and whether any of them really will return in ’25. Anderson’s a huge loss: a prototypical NFL body and skillset. But one of many who were dissatisfied with a number of things beyond the football field. For example, Andrel Anthony had reportedly told people early season that even through a knee-surgery-gone-wrong-in-rehab that required three additional surgeries during the season, he was coming back.

I’ve learned that is being strongly reconsidered. More on this and other receivers later.

Time to go see if Mike Gundy is going to be OSU’s head coach next season. What a wild 2024!