Derek Simmons, Trevor Goosby injury update: OU, Texas OTs leave game amid offensive line woes

By the end of the first quarter in Saturday afternoon’s ‘Red River Rivalry’ matchup between No. 6 Oklahoma and Texas, two offensive lineman have already been shaken up.

Texas sophomore OL Trevor Goosby and Oklahoma redshirt senior OL Derek Simmons have departed Saturday’s game early with injuries. The Sooners lead 3-0 at the end of one in Dallas.

Starting left tackle Trevor Goosby hobbles off of the field for the Longhorns.

Texas cannot afford any injuries to an offensive line that has already been struggling.

— HornSports (@HornSports) October 11, 2025

Goosby has started at left tackle for Texas in all five games this season. Simmons, who transferred from Western Carolina this offseason for his final year of college football, missed OU’s season opener but has played in the last four games.

“He just got rolled up on inadvertently on that left knee and it buckled,” ESPN‘s Chris Fowler said about Simmons. “He is now up and hobbling very slowly.”

John Mateer got the start for Oklahoma Saturday afternoon

After coming off the SEC availability report, John Mateer has “no limitations” for Saturday’s game, according to Brent Venables pregame. ESPN’s Holly Rowe also had more details on the Sooners QB’s health.

Rowe said on the broadcast that Mateer was able to go through warm-ups looking like his usual self, including a tight spiral. He is playing the game with a wrap around his thumb, just under two weeks removed from surgery.

Through the opening quarter, the Heisman Trophy contender has completed 8/15 passes with an interception.

“We were able to watch John Mateer in his pregame warmup,” Rowe said. “He is wearing a Velcro tab around his wrist that gives the base of his thumb some extra support. But I can tell you this, his spiral was tight. I saw him go to the 50-yard line, throw deep into the end zone, tight spiral and I think he is doing a great job in pregame warmups.”

“He did not seem to be in pain when he was taking snaps or making these throws. We’ll see how long he’s able to play in this game today.”

Mateer was the Heisman Trophy favorite at the time of his injury against Auburn, completing 67.4% of his passes for 1,215 yards and six touchdowns through four games. He also added 190 rushing yards and five touchdowns.

Much was made about Oklahoma’s handling of John Mateer’s injury and keeping his status in question, which was perhaps a bit of gamesmanship. However, former Texas coach Mack Brown defended Venables’ approach and keeping the Longhorns in the dark prior to Saturday’s game.

“‘Lying’ is a strong word. … We used to call it, ‘situation ethics,’” Brown said on The Stampede podcast with Vince Young and Bob Ballou. “If it fit the situation, it was ethical, if you’re a coach during the week. It is definitely ethical. The more gray he can leave it, the more question marks you have as the opposing team.”

If Mateer was not able to suit up Saturday at the Cotton Bowl, Michael Hawkins would have been in line to start. He started last year’s Red River Rivalry game, but struggled as Oklahoma scored just three points.

On3’s Nick Schultz contributed to this article…