The injury could keep Mateer from playing in the Cotton Bowl.
Oklahoma Sooners quarterback John Mateer will undergo thumb surgery on Wednesday and could miss more than three weeks, according to Sooner Scoop, which might keep him from playing against the Texas Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl on Oct. 11 — in a statement released by the school, Oklahoma said that Mateer plans to return “sometime this season.”
“After consulting with medical experts, it became clear that surgery is the best option for John and his short- and long-term future,” said Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables. “He’s extremely disappointed he will miss some game action but is eager to correct the issue and move forward. As he is with everything, we know he will be aggressive with his rehabilitation and work to return to the field as quickly as possible.”
If Mateer can’t play against the Longhorns, that would represent a seismic shift in the high-profile Red River Rivalry with Texas currently 3-1 and ranked No. 10 and Oklahoma 4-0 and ranked No. 7 after Saturday’s 24-17 win over then-No. 22 Auburn in Norman.
Mateer suffered the thumb injury in that game, derailing what has been a red-hot start to the season for the redshirt junior from Little Elm. Ranked as the No. 6 player in the NCAA transfer portal by 247Sports after leaving Washington State and rejoining offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle in Norman, Mateer is 95-of-141 passing (67.4 percent) for 1,215 yards, six touchdowns, and three interceptions through the air while adding 190 yards and five touchdowns on the ground so far.
Against Auburn, Mateer finished 271 passing yards and 29 rushing yards and engineered the game-winning touchdown drive despite sustaining the injury in the first quarter.
Sophomore Michael Hawkins will replace the redshirt junior after playing in seven games and making four starts last year as a true freshman, completing 76-of-120 passes (63 percent) for 783 yards and three touchdowns and rushing 69 times for 204 yards and a touchdown.
“We have all the confidence in the world in Michael and are excited for his opportunity to lead our offense while John recovers,” Venables said. “He had some big moments for us last season as a true freshman and has just gotten better and better. I’m proud of the work Michael’s put in and the progress he’s made, and know he will attack this opportunity to help lead our football team.”
In the 34-3 loss to Texas, Hawkins struggled, going 19-of-30 passing for 148 yards while being sacked six times.
Category: General Sports
