John Mateer injury: Oklahoma QB’s status upgraded ahead of Texas game
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John Mateer was upgraded from “questionable” to “probable” on the availability report Oklahoma provided to the SEC on Thursday night.
Mateer, the Sooners’ star quarterback, was listed as questionable to play in Saturday’s Red River Rivalry game against Texas on the team’s initial report submitted to the conference on Wednesday. When coach Brent Venables was asked about Mateer’s status on his weekly teleconference call with reporters, he declined to provide any update.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel had a vague non-update update Thursday evening that Mateer would “attempt” to play against the Longhorns but “there’s no certainty he’ll be able to go.”
Thursday night’s availability report suggests things are at least trending in a positive direction for Mateer.
In his first 4 games for Oklahoma, Mateer completed 67% of his passes for 1,215 yards and 6 touchdowns against 3 picks. He had a team-high 190 rushing yards and 5 scores at the time of the injury.
Mateer injured his hand in the 24-17 win over Auburn on Sept. 20. The Sooners had an off week the following week and then beat Kent State on Oct. 4 with backup quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. running the show.
After that win, Venables said he had confidence in Hawkins to start if Mateer was unavailable. Hawksin threw for 162 yards and 3 scores while adding 33 yards and a rushing score on the ground.
Mateer, the favorite for the Heisman Trophy following the Auburn game, had surgery to repair the bone in his hand less than 3 weeks ago. A return to the field for Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff in Dallas would mark an aggressive rehab. But the sixth-ranked Sooners are also unbeaten and looking to remain that way.
A win over Texas (3-2, 0-1 SEC) would push OU to 2-0 in league play and 6-0 on the season. Following news of Mateer’s status, OU moved to a 1.5-point favorite, per BetMGM.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
