John Mateer injury update: Report reveals when Oklahoma expects to make decision on QB’s status vs. Texas

Will he or won’t he? That’s the question every Oklahoma fan is asking about the availability of injured Sooners star quarterback John Mateer in Saturday’s Red River Rivalry game vs. Texas in Dallas.

Well, reportedly there is “continued optimism” that Mateer, who broke a bone in his right/throwing hand against Auburn on Sept. 20, could end up playing Saturday against the Longhorns, according to CBS Sports’ Matt Zentiz, though a final determination won’t be made until gameday. Saturday would be exactly 17 days removed from his Sept. 24 surgery in Los Angeles.

Mateer, who missed last week’s game vs. Kent State, was listed as “probable” to play on Thursday’s SEC availability report, another positive sign that he could play against the rival Longhorns on Saturday. He was upgraded from “questionable” on Wednesday’s initial report.

With Mateer on the mend, sophomore backup Michael Hawkins Jr. started and played well in Oklahoma’s 44-0 win over Kent State in Week 6. Hawkins completed 14-of-his-24 pass attempts for 162 yards and three touchdowns in the blowout.

Earlier this week, positive reports about Mateer’s playing status began to trickle out. Still, the Oklahoma coaches have taken a more cautious approach with the injury.

“John is doing no good-on-good work,” Venables said earlier this week. “It’s Michael and Whitt [Newbauer] right now. If something changes, I’ll let you know. But I think if you’re going to play, you’ve got to go good-on-good, right? Throw some skelly, hand the ball off, play on third downs.”

Despite the claims of Sooners coaching staff, Texas is preparing for the game as if Mateer will be out there. Better safe than sorry.

“We’ll plan for Mateer,” Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian said. “You have to. He’s a dynamic player, he’s the heartbeat of that offense for sure. Everything goes through him. We played against Hawkins last year. He’s a much-improved player.

“Like most young players, they get better over time. You can see his improvement for sure. Coach (Ben) Arbuckle’s got a great scheme. We’ve got to prepare for the scheme. He’s a fantastic coach. They tax you a lot of different ways.”

Mateer had emerged as a Heisman Trophy frontrunner prior to his hand injury after opening the season with 1,215 passing yards and six touchdowns through the air while also adding 190 rushing yards and five more scores on the ground. Mateer’s 303.8 passing yards per game this season still lead the SEC.

— On3’s Grant Grubbs and Barkley Truax contributed to this report.