Oklahoma starting quarterback and Heisman favorite John Mateer is set to have surgery on his throwing hand, specifically his thumb. This announcement comes three days after their 24-17 win over Auburn. The injury occurred in the first quarter against Auburn; nevertheless, he finished the game, putting up 271 yards and running for the game-winning touchdown. Mateer is expected to miss three or more weeks due to surgery. This means he will miss the Red River Rivalry. His surgery is expected to be on Wednesday of this week. Here’s everything about the injury and what’s to come next.
Oklahoma Loses Mateer
Mateer’s Breakout Season
Through the first four weeks, Mateer has broken Baker Mayfield’s record for passing yards in an OU debut, led the Sooners to 7th in the nation, thrown for 1,215 yards, and has 11 total touchdowns. Most impressively, he became the Heisman favorite at +700. Now his chase for college football’s most prestigious individual award seems over. Still, his quest for a college football championship is still in reach for Mateer and the Sooners. At the earliest, he would return for the South Carolina game on October 18th in week eight.
Coach Speaks on his QB
Coach Brent Venables announced the injury in a statement on Tuesday. He announced that Oklahoma medical professionals believed that surgery would benefit Mateer in the short term and long term. With the news, Venables commended his quarterback’s perseverance and fight, “We know he will be aggressive with his rehabilitation and work to return to the field as quickly as possible.”
New QB1
Now, without Mateer, Oklahoma will start sophomore Michael Hawkins Jr., who appeared in seven games last year. He would start three of them, currently standing at 1-2 as a starter. He looks to avenge the loss to Texas last season that ended 34-3. In those seven games, he showed flashes that by the end of the year, he threw for 783 yards and ran for 204 yards.
Oklahoma is now on bye this week and will play Kent State a week from Saturday, setting up a likely top 10 matchup for the Red River Rivalry on October 11th. The hype for the Mateer Manning quarterback matchup is over. Still, Hawkins now gets his chance at revenge, and Texas quarterback Arch Manning will get his first taste of the Red River Rivalry. Stay tuned for future updates on Mateer’s health and other Sooner news.
Main Image: BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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