By David Ubben, Bruce Feldman and Chris Vannini
Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer plans to undergo surgery on his right throwing hand on Wednesday to repair an injury suffered in Saturday’s win over Auburn, the program announced on Tuesday.
Sooners coach Brent Venables provided no timetable for his return but said Mateer, a redshirt junior, is expected to miss “some game action” and “return to action sometime this season.” A program source told The Athletic the hope is Mateer can get back by Oct. 18 for the South Carolina game — a week after the Sooners play rival Texas — but Oklahoma won’t have a better sense of his possible return date until after the surgery.
“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. “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.”
Sophomore Michael Hawkins Jr., who played in seven games and started four last season, is expected to start for the No. 7 Sooners (4-0, 1-0 SEC) in their next game on Oct. 4 against Kent State. Hawkins was 1-3 in starts last season and was benched for Jackson Arnold, who he initially replaced. Arnold transferred to Auburn after the season.
Mateer, who followed offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle to Oklahoma this season as a transfer from Washington State, has thrown for 1,215 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions in four games this season. He’s also rushed for 190 yards and five touchdowns to help fuel Oklahoma’s 4-0 start that included home wins over Michigan and Auburn.
Mateer ranks second in the FBS in total offense (351.3 yards per game) and entered the conversation for the Heisman Trophy as college football’s most outstanding player. He was the betting favorite for the award as of Monday, prior to the injury announcement. Dating back to his time at Washington State, Mateer has run and thrown for a touchdown in 10 consecutive games. It’s the third-longest such streak since 2000, tied with Lamar Jackson.
The Athletic’s Dane Brugler ranked Mateer No. 5 among underclassman NFL Draft quarterback prospects in the preseason.
How Mateer’s injury impacts Oklahoma
Mateer’s injury shakes up the SEC, College Football Playoff and Heisman Trophy races in a major way.
The 4-0 Sooners have looked like one of the top teams in the conference and the country, bouncing back from last year’s disappointing 6-7 season. Mateer passed his first SEC test on Saturday by completing 15 of his final 16 passes against Auburn, fighting through the injury. The school’s offseason investment into Venables and his program was paying off as well as anyone could’ve imagined. That momentum now faces a major test.
The Sooners are 114th in the FBS in rushing yards per carry, and Mateer is the team’s leading rusher with 43 carries (including sacks) for 190 yards. Cal transfer running back Jaydn Ott had just nine carries this year. Mateer has been the team’s entire offense. People around the sport wondered whether Mateer could hold up with that workload. He didn’t make it through September.
The Sooners’ schedule gets very difficult beginning in Week 7. They face No. 10 Texas in a rivalry game in Dallas a week after Kent State on Oct. 11, and then three of their next four games are on the road, with the trip to South Carolina, a home date against No. 13 Ole Miss and road trips to No. 15 Tennessee and No. 17 Alabama to follow.
Oklahoma ends the season at home against No. 20 Missouri and No. 4 LSU, meaning it has six remaining games against teams ranked in the latest AP poll. There will be no opportunities to take a break, save for the idle Saturdays this week and in mid-November.
Hawkins took over as Oklahoma’s starter last year for a benched Arnold but couldn’t improve an offense that was missing its top five wide receivers and multiple offensive linemen last season. With that year of action under his belt, three upcoming weeks of practice as the QB1 and a much better cast of playmakers around him, Hawkins will have to step up his game to keep the Sooners in the race to reach their goals.
Prior to Mateer’s injury, Oklahoma had a 32 percent chance to make the Playoff, according to Austin Mock’s projections for The Athletic.
(Photo: Kevin Jairaj / Imagn Images)
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