Greg McElroy Names College Football Star That Reminds Him Of Baker Mayfield

Looking ahead to the 2025 season, one overlooked college football quarterback reminds Greg McElroy of former Oklahoma Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield. Mayfield cemented his name in Sooners' history after transferring from Texas Tech in 2015. The former walk-on was a Heisman Trophy finalist three times, taking home the award in 2017 while leading Oklahoma to a College Football Playoff appearance.

Mayfield finished his career with the top-two seasons, in terms of passing efficiency, in college football history before going No. 1 overall to the Cleveland Browns in the 2018 NFL Draft. ESPN analyst McElroy raised a comparison to Mayfield, now leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, when ranking his top quarterbacks entering the 2025 season.



And the honor goes to Oklahoma's new transfer addition in former Washington State quarterback John Mateer, who McElroy ranked as his No. 2 quarterback. "When I look at John Mateer, his skill set does remind me a little bit of a slightly more run-heavy Baker Mayfield," McElroy said on "Always College Football.

"Oklahoma Sooners quarterback and former Washington State Cougars quarterback John Mateer.James Snook-Imagn ImagesMuch like Mayfield, Mateer was a largely overlooked recruit when coming out of Little Elm, Texas, in the class of 2022. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound passer was rated as the No.

124 quarterback in his class, per 247Sports. After waiting behind Cam Ward at Washington State, it was Mateer's turn in 2024. The junior made the most of that opportunity, throwing for 3,139 yards with 29 touchdowns to seven interceptions while adding 826 rushing yards with 15 scores on the ground.

"John Mateer, he can carve you up from the pocket," McElroy said. "Not quite like Baker Mayfield could carve you up in the pocket, but man, he will kill you with his legs.""He, at one point, had Washington State at 8-1 last year," McElroy continued.

"He beat Texas Tech. He beat Washington. He had a rushing touchdown in all but one game and had nearly 70% completion in seven of his 12 games.

He led the FBS in touchdowns last year with 44 and was the only quarterback with 20 or more passing touchdowns and 10 or more rushing touchdowns."What McElroy revealed that he "loves most" about Mateer's potential at Oklahoma is the pairing with new coordinator Ben Arbuckle. The former Washington State assistant has joined his former quarterback with the Sooners under head coach Brent Venables.

Oklahoma has plenty to improve on after fielding the nation's No. 97 total offense and 119th passing offense. "There's already great familiarity there," McElroy said.

"He's got he knows exactly what Ben Arbuckle is trying to do. ..

. So John Mateer, I think he's I think he's amazing. I think he's really really good.

I think Oklahoma has a star in the making and could be poised for a tremendous bounce back offensively if they can stay healthy at wide receiver."Mateer is slated to make his Oklahoma debut at home against Illinois State on Aug. 30.

Related: James Franklin's Behavior Toward Fan During Penn State's Spring Game is Turning HeadsRelated: Former Five-Star Recruit's Transfer Situation Takes Unexpected Twist.