Vince Young on John Mateer injury, availability vs. Texas: 'We don't care who plays'

As the Red River Rivalry between Oklahoma and Texas gets closer, John Mateer’s injury and availability will be the focus. The OU quarterback is expected to try and give it a go, just over two weeks after undergoing hand surgery.

If Mateer is unable to play, Michael Hawkins would step back in against the Longhorns. But to Texas legend Vince Young, it doesn’t matter which quarterback his alma mater faces. He just wants UT to be ready.

Young encouraged the Texas players to keep their focus on the game and not who will be at quarterback on the other side. Anything beyond the Xs and Os, he said, will be the coaches’ responsibility. The players need to be ready for the raucous atmosphere at the Cotton Bowl.

“We don’t care who plays,” Young said on The Stampede podcast with Mack Brown and Bob Ballou. We’ve got to prepare to play. That’s one thing Coach Brown and the rest of the coaching staff [said], we don’t care who plays. I think it’s just a tactic. I think they’re messing around. Unless there’s some of this new technology – I can honestly say, there’s some new technology would likely get you back out there quickly.

“But to me, as a player, you really don’t care. You’ve just got to get yourself prepared to play because this is going to be a hostile environment [no matter] who plays. You just have to focus on Texas football – Texas offense, Texas defense and Texas special teams because you don’t know who’s going to show up to this game. It’s always happened like that because of the momentum, both ways and all the stuff that goes on to hype up the game, you’ve just got to go play the game. That’s what you’ve got to be focused on as a player. For the other stuff, that’s Coach Brown and the rest of the coaching staff to deal with.”

John Mateer underwent hand surgery Sept. 25, two days after Oklahoma announced he suffered an injury against Auburn. The timeline put his status for the Red River Shootout into question, but it seems like he’s going to try to play. On3’s Chris Low, Brett McMurphy and Pete Nakos have more details on where Mateer stands ahead of Saturday’s rivalry game.

On Friday’s availability report, Mateer was still probable – the same designation he had Thursday. Now, it’s on to game time, which is Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC.