John Mateer injury update: Bob Stoops reacts after Oklahoma QB completes surgery

Oklahoma superstar quarterback John Mateer underwent what he described as a “successful” surgery Thursday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles to repair his injured throwing hand. Mateer is expected to miss multiple weeks in recovery but should return at some point later this season.

In the meantime, the seventh-ranked Sooners will turn the ball over to sophomore backup Michael Hawkins Jr., with Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables expressing confidence in his young dual-threat QB during an impromptu press conference shortly after Mateer’s return to Norman.

Legendary former Sooners head coach Bob Stoops reacted to a video of current Venables addressing local media with news of Mateer’s successful surgery on Thursday afternoon. In the post, Stoops wrote with the hashtag caption #OUDNA, signifying the inherent strength of the entire Oklahoma program.

“#OUDNA,” Stoops posted in a quote-tweet of the video Friday morning.

The 6-foot-1, 206-pound Hawkins played in seven games last season as a true freshman, including four starts in place of former Sooners QB Jackson Arnold, where he combined for 987 total yards and four combined touchdowns. That included 783 yards on 63.3% passing and three passing scores to two interceptions.

Given the wealth of experience last season, Venables is confident Hawkins has the right state of mind to handle being thrust into a starting role in 2025. The coach elaborated on why.

“He’s done a great job just keeping his head down, proving his understanding of the offense and all the fundamentals of being a quarterback. Leadership as well, and just has put together a really good body of work over the last several months,” Venables said Thursday, via George Stoia of On3’s SoonerScoop. “He’s always had a great work ethic, and he’s always been really coachable. He’s hungry, he’s humble and ultra talented.”

Brent Venables shares latest after John Mateer surgery, expresses confidence in Michael Hawkins Jr.

Mateer was the leading Heisman Trophy favorite prior to his injury announcement earlier this week. He is expected to miss up to a month following the “straightforward” surgery, according to ESPN insider Pete Thamel.

No. 7 Oklahoma (4-0, 1-0 SEC) is off this weekend and then hosts Kent State in a non-conference game Oct. 4 before returning to SEC play with the Red River Showdown against No. 10 Texas the following week. If Mateer misses a full month, that would put him on track to return for the Sooners’ Oct. 25 game against No. 13 Ole Miss in the first of five straight ranked games to close out the regular season.

Mateer has been one of the most productive quarterbacks in the country through the first month of the regular season, establishing himself as an elite dual-threat playmaker after transferring in from Washington State this past offseason.

The veteran gunslinger leads the SEC with 1,215 yards and six touchdowns to three interceptions, while adding a team-high 190 rushing yards and five scores on the ground through four games.

“I’ve got faith in our football team, and I hate that for John, certainly,” Venables said. “But it’s been good. Again, in the spirit of the team, we’ve got a bunch of guys that are highly invested.

“Most teams are going to face some type of adversity, whether it’s in a game, or an injury to your roster. You’ve gotta move forward and gotta get better from it. And again, if we’re who I believe we are, we’ll continue to keep our head down and work and get better.”

— On3’s Barkley Truax contributed to this report.