John Mateer’s link with Terry Bradshaw is the kind of off-field story that stands out in college football, but it also says something about the Oklahoma quarterback’s growing profile. After meeting the Pro Football Hall of Famer at a Dallas card show, Mateer says the two now text and call each other.
That matters because Mateer is not just an intriguing college player any more. After spending his first three years at Washington State, he transferred to Oklahoma and immediately became central to the Sooners’ hopes. He started 12 games last season, finishing with 2,885 passing yards, 14 passing touchdowns and 11 interceptions, while also adding 431 rushing yards and eight touchdowns.
How Mateer and Bradshaw met
Mateer said the relationship began casually, at a Dallas card show, when someone asked if he wanted to meet Bradshaw. His reaction was simple: “Yeah, duh. Who wouldn’t?”
From there, the conversation took on a more familiar tone. Mateer said he started “giving it to him and pushing his buttons a little bit,” and Bradshaw “gives it right back, and it’s on.” It is a description that sounds more like two football people having fun than a formal celebrity encounter.
The most striking detail is that the relationship did not end when the card show did. Mateer said, “Who am I to think I’d be able to talk to people like that? And now I text him, and we call, and he calls me.” For a young quarterback, that is a reminder that football can open unexpected doors.
Why the connection matters for Oklahoma
Mateer’s bond with Bradshaw also arrives at a time when the quarterback is under plenty of scrutiny on the field. In Week 4 of his 2025 campaign, he suffered a broken bone in his throwing hand, missed a start and played through the injury for the remainder of the season. He later said, “It sucked. I broke my thumb. It was just a lot going on for me.”
Even so, Oklahoma finished 10-2 and hosted Alabama in the first round of the College Football Playoff before losing. That context helps explain why Mateer remains such an important figure for the Sooners, and why his mindset has become part of the conversation around him.
He said one of the biggest lessons was mental: “Leading through whenever you’re not playing at your best is very difficult,” and “The biggest lesson is that with all that going on, you have to find a way for your mind to be in the right spot.”
He was also clear that he would not hide behind the injury as an excuse. “I did not look back and say ‘I played poorly because of my thumb.’ It was because of my mind.”
That is the broader takeaway from the Bradshaw connection too. Mateer is still a college quarterback, but the mix of production, resilience and profile makes him feel like a player already moving toward the next level. In Week 1, he threw for 225 yards and three touchdowns in Oklahoma’s 51-0 win over UTEP, another reminder that his season remains about performance as much as personality.
For Oklahoma, that is the balance to watch. Mateer’s relationship with Bradshaw is a headline-grabber, but the real story will be whether he can keep stacking calm, efficient performances while the attention around him keeps growing.
