Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer raves about Sooners' young freshman star playmaker 'He's an athletic freak'

Even though the Oklahoma Sooners didn't pull in a top-ten recruiting class for their 2025 haul, they still managed to add plenty of talented players who are in prime shape to be long-time playmakers on both sides of the ball.

While most of the attention went to five-star offensive tackle Michael Fasusi, it's another freshman who has continued to dominate the discussion and has drawn nothing but rave reviews.

Freshman wide receiver Elijah Thomas from Checotah, Oklahoma, has been a consistent standout player and has all eyes on him.

This week at SEC Media Days, quarterback John Mateer pointed straight to Thomas as a standout playmaker to watch.

"He’s doing a great job. He’s an athletic freak as you can see by his weight room times, or his weight room lifts and his running times and then on the field he’s picking up the offense and the game real well. It’s not all the time that a freshman receiver can feel the game the way he does but he feels the game real well."

Thomas was a four-star recruit and a top-five wide receiver in the 2025 class the Sooners locked up early. He committed to the Sooners in July of 2023 and remained steadfast throughout. 

So far, he's done nothing but turn heads throughout camp. The only other freshman receiver I've ever seen talked about like Thomas was CeeDee Lamb, who everyone knew was going to be a playmaker right away. 

His track background pops on film, and he generates easy separation from defensive backs routinely. As he continues to grow more comfortable with the offense and build chemistry with John Mateer, his playing time is only going to increase. 

For an Oklahoma offense in need of a boost in explosive plays after a dismal 2024 season, Thomas could be a major contributor sooner than later.