Kirk Herbstreit and Joey Galloway want John Mateer to return to college next year. In the age of the NCAA transfer portal, both agree that he’ll run it back with the Oklahoma Sooners as well.

For Herbstreit, he has high this will pan out. The ESPN College GameDay host believes the tagline “unfinished business” suits Mateer for a 2026 run in Norman.

“Why would he leave a place that’s become home? I guess if someone paid him,” Herbstreit said. “My guess is, he’s going back to OU.”

Galloway pointed toward the early Heisman hype Mateer received in September before missing time recovering from hand surgery. Mateer, statistically, did not look the same after his return. 2026 could be a major boost to his draft stock the following spring.

“That would be my guess and my suggestion (would be) that OU is a good place to go back to,” Galloway said. “I think that he needs to get healthy. I hope he gets back to the John Mateer we’ve seen early on the season for Oklahoma, but I would imagine he’s going to be back.”

Mateer finished the season with 2,885 passing yards to go along with 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. His dual-threat abilities saw him take 149 carries across 431 yards for an additional eight touchdowns.

He helped led the Sooners to a 10-3 record, which included a home College Football Playoff game against Alabama. While Oklahoma ultimately fell short 34-24, a potential return in 2026 means the Sooners would be able to build its roster around him next season.

Mateer addressed his future immediately following the Sooners’ loss to the Crimson Tide. He was non-committal when discussing what’s next for his football career.

“I haven’t really thought about it yet,” Mateer said. “I’m pretty sure I’ll take some time and weigh all the options and we’ll see.”

The NCAA transfer portal opens on Jan. 2 and will be open for 15 days, closing on Jan. 16. For the NFL Draft, the declaration window closes on Jan. 6 with there being a hard deadline for special eligibility closes on Jan. 15. The deadline to opt out of the 2026 NFL Draft is Feb. 7, 2025, so Mateer has the opportunity to test the waters if he so chooses.

If he does return to OU in 2026, the next time we’ll see him in uniform will be on Sept. 5, 2026 when the Sooners take on UTEP in Norman. Only time will tell if that’s actually the case.