John Mateer continuing to progress from thumb surgery, looking to build off South Carolina game
NORMAN — John Mateer was reminded of an important lesson in last Saturday’s win over South Carolina.
He can trust his teammates. He doesn’t have to control everything. That’s especially important for Mateer, who is less than a month removed from undergoing surgery after breaking his right thumb against Auburn.
The Sooners totaled 319 yards in the 26-7 win over South Carolina, including 171 yards on the ground, marking one of their more efficient performances on the season. Mateer didn’t have to press with the Sooners finding success on the ground, something he struggled with in the loss to Texas earlier this month.
“You don’t want to like break everything down (after the Texas game), my process was still good,” Mateer said. “But I think I just realized that I can trust these guys around me. It’s not that I didn’t, but they obviously showed it. They’ve showed it every game, but I have kind of a control problem. It’s probably my personality, not because I don’t believe in anyone, but it’s me just trusting it and letting the game come to me is a big thing that I knew when I was younger but I kind of got away from.
“But (it’s about) letting the game come to me, and we all played super hard so it worked out.”
The injury appeared to bother Mateer in the loss to Texas, though he emphasized that he felt fine physically. The OU quarterback three for a career-high three interceptions against the Longhorns and struggled with accuracy. Mateer looked a little more comfortable against the Gamecocks, finishing with 150 passing yards on 18/26 passing, one touchdown and zero turnovers.
The typical explosiveness in both the running game and the passing game haven’t been there the last couple weeks. Mateer has played with a wrap on his hand the last two games, but he said he can feel his thumb continuing to heal.
“I knew I wanted a KT tape; I honestly like the black tape,” Mateer said. “I think it looks cool, but there’s also a benefit to it. This is the second version of the wrap. I wanted to make sure that it wasn’t thick, so it didn’t keep my thumb off the ball. But it was fine. It’s healing, but yeah. It’s not hard.
“I’m updating Dr. Shin all the time. He’s staying in contact. But yeah, it’s healing well. Just eating right and doing the recovery stuff that you got to do.”
The Sooners will need Mateer at his usual explosiveness this weekend against No. 8 Ole Miss. The Rebels (6-1, 3-1 SEC) are coming off a tough 43-35 loss to Georgia, though they again displayed how explosive their offense can be. The Rebels rank 16th in scoring offense (37.4 points per game) and eighth in total offense.
Though OU’s defense has been one of the best in the country, the offense is likely going to need to score and generate some explosive plays to keep up. Mateer said the goal is for the offense to stay efficient.
“Just one day at a time,” Mateer said. “We have everything we need. We don’t have to be anything we’re not. I don’t have to do too much. Isaiah (Sategna), Deion (Burks) — no one has to do anything that we’re not capable of. I think that’s a super-important thing. Just day to day, put in the work to get better every day.”
Not a subscriber? Join OUInsider now and get your first week for just $1. No, this deal is NOT too good to be true! Take advantage today and get the market’s best Oklahoma football and recruiting intel!
Click HERE to subscribe today!