John Mateer injury update: Oklahoma QB reveals his health status after playing in Red River Rivalry

If there is a positive for the Oklahoma Sooners to take out of the loss to Texas, it’s the status of their quarterback. John Mateer played for all four quarters and came out of the game healthy. A positive sign on him not suffering any setbacks and playing Saturday vs. South Carolina.

An update from the man himself came on Monday, saying he is good to go. Mateer will continue to monitor himself and if anything flares up, the brakes will be pumped a little bit.

“Full go,” Mateer said of his status. “I played in the game. So, if anything starts hurting, I’ll chill out.”

Being back healthy post-surgery, this week is going to look different for Mateer than the one leading into the River River Shootout. Without using it as an excuse for the Texas performance, he admitted the importance of being able to practice. If nothing else, getting back into a routine is critical for Mateer.

“Practice is super important,” Mateer said. “I don’t think that was the reason everything happened but it’s super important for any player, from professional to youth. You need to practice. It will be good getting into a rhythm, working my body, and being ready to go.”

Nobody truly knew the practice status of Mateer leading into Dallas. Oklahoma went indoors a couple of days, citing heat issues for Monday, and then a routine procedure on Tuesday. Mateer then featured on the Wednesday injury report as questionable before getting upgraded to probable in the coming days.

But Mateer did not put up the type of performances we saw from him earlier in the season. Just 20 of his 38 throws were completed, going for 202 yards and no touchdowns. Three interceptions were back-breaking for the Sooners as well, coming at costly moments. Not what the crimson half of the Cotton Bowl was expecting.

Fault-finding with himself postgame, the same was true for Mateer on Monday. However, some picking up from his teammates appears to have taken place over the past 48 hours. After all, Oklahoma needs to shake this one off before facing South Carolina on the road.

“It’s just decision making,” Mateer said. “Taking another breath and really seeing the field and knowing the situation and not guessing and doing too much. I think that’s what came up. Obviously, not happy about it. Nobody is and nobody should be. But my teammates, they have my back, and I appreciate that.”