Brent Venables calls out doubts of John Mateer, Jaydn Ott being able to compete in the SEC

Brent Venables had a clear message for all those who believe the SEC will be too much for John Mateer and Jaydn Ott. The Oklahoma coach defended the two transfers from Washington State and California, respectively, saying they will more than hold their weight against the league’s top teams.

Venables mentioned some doubters who brought up Washington State’s schedule from last season in particular, questioning whether Mateer could produce on the same level against SEC teams. But based on what he’s seen in practice, there’s no doubt in his mind.

“I know a lot of people in here have made comments that they’re gonna really struggle in the SEC because this isn’t Wyoming and whoever else we’re quantifying that against,” Venables said Wednesday during a press conference. “How about a freshman quarterback playing in the SEC? He hasn’t played in the SEC either. But there’s been plenty of young players that never played college football until their freshman year and they do really well.

“So I think for those guys in particular, why I believe in them, I think they’ve got a lot of natural talent. I think they’ve got instincts. I think they’ve got belief. They’ve got tremendous work ethic. They’ve got humility to be prepared and shwo up every day to strain, to get better, fight when things aren’t going their way. But they’re really good football players at the end of the day and they’ve shown that through a body of work.”

Mateer put up one of the best statistical seasons of any player in college football last year. He not only threw for 3,129 yards and 29 touchdowns to only seven interceptions, but also rushed for 826 yards and 15 more TDs. That tied him for the most total touchdowns in the country with 44.

Granted, the Cougars faced only two schools from a Power 4 conference all of last season after being left in the dust by the rest of the Pac-12 from conference realignment. But even if Mateer doesn’t exactly replicate his 2024 numbers, he still has the talent to be one of the best quarterback’s in the SEC in Venables’ estimation.

“The best things he can do, he just has tremendous capacity as a quarterback,” Venables said. “I don’t see a guy that is braggadocious. I see a guy that has tremendous humility, respect for the game, hungry to gain knowledge. He’s performed at a pretty good level in what he sees on the practice field every day. And when he doesn’t do something well, he usually corrects those issues.”

As for Ott, the running back put up massive numbers as a sophomore in 2023 to rush for 1,315 yards and 12 touchdowns. However, he suffered ankle injury in the season opener of last year and never seemed to look the same, finishing with 385 yards rushing and four touchdowns in 10 games.

Venables also has belief that the Ott can be a star for the team. They’ll certainly need it after the Sooners ranked 15th in the SEC in scoring offense and 14th in total offense last year.

“I haven’t had Jaydn in the same light with him not getting here until the summer, but he’s got a great presence to him and has shown tremendous work ethic,” Venables said. “Again, the natural things that you see on tape — his pace, his speed, his explosiveness and his ability to break tackles as his instincts. His ability to do a lot of things out of the backfield. Pass protect, all of those things.

“He’s gonna have a chance to have success in this conference, which is again, a great conference. We know that.”