Finding a franchise quarterback in the NFL isn’t easy. Look at the Pittsburgh Steelers. They’ve only had two signal callers at that level in their nearly 100-year history. Ben Roethlisberger is more recent, and his stats might earn him more praise, but Terry Bradshaw was also one of the best quarterbacks of his generation. University of Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer, who could be one of the top signal callers in next year’s draft, appreciates what Bradshaw accomplished decades before Mateer was born.
“I’ve actually been watching some Terry Bradshaw film,” Mateer said Monday via OU Insider’s YouTube channel. “Y’all wouldn’t believe it. Met up with him, saw him a couple days ago, and watching his film. He’s great. Being like him and winning four Super Bowls, come on, winning games, Terry Bradshaw. Not everybody knows about Terry Bradshaw.”
Mateer is about to enter his fifth season of college football, and his second at Oklahoma. He began his career at Washington State University, spending three seasons there. However, he was only the Cougars’ starter for one season, throwing for 3,139 yards, 29 touchdowns, and seven interceptions and rushing for 826 yards and 15 touchdowns in 12 games before transferring to Oklahoma.
Unfortunately, Mateer couldn’t improve on his 2024 season. His play in 2025 wasn’t great, passing for 2,885 yards and 14 touchdowns with 11 interceptions, as well as rushing for 431 yards and eight touchdowns.
However, Mateer suffered an injury to his throwing hand early last season that likely contributed to his underwhelming year. If he’s healthy this year, he might not have to wait too long to hear his name called during the draft next year.
Bradshaw is a good example of a quarterback who persevered through early struggles. The two actually met in person recently, as Bradshaw posted on his Instagram. It seems like Mateer has a fan in the Hall of Famer now.
While the former Steeler might not be the first quarterback prospects watch, Mateer explained in that same video how he ended up watching Bradshaw’s film.
“I love watching good football. I was looking back because I didn’t know a lot,” he said. “He’s before my time a little bit. But you look, he’s four-for-four on Super Bowls, first overall pick. You go find somebody who played old-school football, that’s who I picked.”
Say what you want about Bradshaw, but he was a winner. Yes, the Steelers were loaded with talent during his playing days. However, Bradshaw was a big part of the team’s success, too. He’s still the only league MVP in Steelers history, and he was also the MVP of two of their Super Bowl wins.
In a separate video posted on Twitter by Rob Gregson of A-to-Z Sports, Mateer explained what he hopes to take from Bradshaw’s game.
“The way he makes plays and throws the ball around, it’s old school. You take some of the old-school stuff and add it into your game, not a lot of people are gonna expect that,” Mateer said. “He’s great…He’s gonna be a good resource. I’m glad I met him.”
The 2027 quarterback class is supposed to be loaded, so Mateer might need any advantage he can get to separate himself. A lot of what Bradshaw did back in the day might not work today. Football in the 1970s was much different than football in the 2020s. However, studying Hall of Famers usually isn’t a bad idea. Perhaps watching Bradshaw will help Mateer vault himself into the first-round conversation in 2027.
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