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

John Mateer underwent successful surgery on Thursday for his throwing hand, but will be forced to miss at least a couple of weeks in recovery. That means Oklahoma will turn towards Michael Hawkins Jr. as its starting quarterback moving forward.

Sooners head coach Brent Venables shared the latest on Mateer following his surgery. He’s back with the team as of Thursday to begin his recovery process and will be made available to the media in the coming days.

Regarding Hawkins Jr., Venables expressed the confidence he has in the young quarterback. Hawkins Jr. already has experience with the Sooners, so knows the expectations set for him.

“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, via George Stoia of Sooner Scoop. “He’s always had a great work ethic, and he’s always been really coachable. He’s hungry, he’s humble and ultra talented.”

Hawkins played in seven games for the Sooners during his freshman year last season. He threw for nearly 800 yards and gained over 200 more on the ground, finishing the season with four total touchdowns and a pair of interceptions.

Mateer could be back in time for the Red River Rivalry on Oct. 11. That could be a good sign for the Sooners, as they’re off this weekend and will play Kent State during Week 6.

Regardless, the Sooners will hope to have Mateer back sooner rather than later. He was regarded as an early candidate to be a Heisman Finalist after putting up over 1,400 yards of offense through the air and on the ground across four games for Oklahoma. Until then, Venables has confidence that Hawkins Jr., as well as the rest of the team, will keep the momentum rolling through the Sooners’ bye week.

“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.”