Oklahoma quarterback and Heisman Trophy favorite John Mateer needs surgery on his throwing hand, and the expectation is he’ll return “this season,” head coach Brent Venables announced Tuesday.
The news came as a surprise three days after Oklahoma’s 24-17 win over No. 22 Auburn, a victory that improved the Sooners to 4-0. Mateer emerged as the betting favorite to win the Heisman Trophy after the win, and Oklahoma moved up from No. 11 to No. 7 in the AP poll.
“After consulting with medical experts, it became clear that surgery is the best option for John and his short- and long-term future,” Venables said, per Oklahoma’s announcement. “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.”
Oklahoma didn’t reveal the precise nature of his injury. Per ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Mateer has a broken bone in his right hand and is expected to face a recovery timeline of around a month.
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Big implications for Heisman, SEC races
The injury projects to sideline Mateer for Oklahoma’s high-stakes Red River rivalry game against Texas on Oct. 11 and beyond.
Oklahoma has a bye this week and won’t play Saturday. Per the school, sophomore quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. will start Oklahoma’s next game against Kent State on Oct. 4.
After that comes the Texas matchup that will have implications in the race for the SEC and placement in the College Football Playoff. From there, Oklahoma faces South Carolina before closing the season with five straight games against ranked SEC opponents Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Missouri and LSU.
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A month-long timeline would project Mateer’s return against Mississippi on Oct. 25 at the earliest.
Per Oklahoma, Mateer sustained the injury in the first quarter of Oklahoma’s win over Auburn. He continued to play and completed 24 of 36 passes for 271 yards and a touchdown. He added 29 yards and one touchdown on the ground.
Hawkins isn’t without experience. He joined Oklahoma as a four-star prospect and made seven appearances, including three starts as a freshman in 2024 when then-starter Jackson Arnold was benched.
He led Oklahoma to a win over Auburn in his first start, but returned to the bench after a 34-3 loss to Texas and committing three turnovers in the first quarter of a start against South Carolina. In his seven appearances, Hawkins completed 63.3% of his passes for 783 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. He added 204 yards (3 yards per attempt) and one touchdown on the ground.
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