If you’ve played any kind of organized sport, the chances of are you’ve heard the Proverb “iron sharpens iron.” That’s referring to how two people can make each other better.
That’s exactly what the Oklahoma Sooners‘ elite defense is doing to the Sooners’ struggling offense. Oklahoma has one of the best defenses in college football, led by head coach Brent Venables. The fifth-year head coach is known for his exotic scheme and hounding pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
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In practice, quarterback John Mateer and the rest of the offense get to go up against that defense. Due to that, Mateer revealed there’s rarely anything he’s not prepared for come gameday.
“That defense is really good,” Mateer said on ‘See Ball Get Ball with David Pollack.’ “They do a lot of things. I have to see everything. Adjust it, process it, get the ball where it needs to be. So, practice, it’s difficult. But just seeing more and more reps. Like, I don’t think there’s anything I’ll see that I’ve never actually seen before. But that is not the case for everybody else.”
Oklahoma’s offense struggled to consistently move the football last season, finishing No. 92 nationally in total offense and No. 113 in rushing offense. The Sooners know that has to change if they want to prove their 2025 playoff appearance was the beginning of something bigger.
The offense has made changes to help make that happen, but the defense may be providing an advantage that doesn’t show up on the depth chart. If Mateer can consistently practice against one of the best defenses in the country, opposing defenses could look less intimidating when the games actually arrive. That doesn’t guarantee offensive success, but it can help accelerate the development of a quarterback and an offense. And that’s exactly what Oklahoma needs.
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The Sooners don’t need their offense to become elite overnight. They need it to become good enough to complement what should once again be a dominant defense. If Mateer’s daily battles against Venables’ unit continue to sharpen him, Oklahoma could finally have the balance it lacked last season; and that could make the Sooners a much more dangerous team in 2026.
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Oklahoma’s defense brings the best out of QB John Mateer
