The Oklahoma Sooners are dealing with an injury to their star quarterback John Mateer.
On Tuesday, Sooners head coach Brent Venables announced that Mateer will undergo hand surgery. The injury reportedly occurred during Oklahoma’s 24-17 win over Auburn last Saturday. Mateer threw for 1,215 yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions through the Sooners' first four games.
Here’s the latest on Mateer’s injury, the Sooners’ quarterback situation, and more.
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What happened to John Mateer?
Mateer suffered an apparent hand injury last week against Auburn. ESPN's Pete Thamel reported that Mateer's injury is a broken bone in his right throwing hand.
On Tuesday, Oklahoma announced in an official release that Mateer will undergo surgery on his hand on Wednsday. Here's more via the official release:
University of Oklahoma head football coach Brent Venables announced Tuesday that quarterback John Mateer will undergo surgery Wednesday to address a right-hand injury he sustained in Saturday's win over Auburn.
Venables said the expectation is that Mateer will return to action sometime this season.
"After consulting with medical experts, it became clear that surgery is the best option for John and his short- and long-term future," said Venables. "He's extremely disappointed he will miss some game action but is eager to correct the issue and move forward. As he is with everything, we know he will be aggressive with his rehabilitation and work to return to the field as quickly as possible."
This is a huge blow both to Oklahoma and Mateer, who emerged as the early-season Heisman frontrunner in recent weeks. Mateer leads the team in rushng, with 190 yards and five touchdowns on the ground.
Mateer transferred from Washington State this offseason, following his offensive coordinator with the Cougars in Ben Arbuckle.
How long will John Meteer be out?
While Oklahoma didn’t explicitly state how long Mateer will be out, it’s safe to assume it will be at least several weeks — and perhaps longer with surgery. The school’s release said Mateer will return to the field “sometime this season.”
According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, the estimated timeline after surgery is about a month.
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Who is Oklahoma's backup QB?
In the release, Venables added that Oklahoma' new starting quarterback will be his backup, Michael Hawkins, Jr. Hawkins is a sophomore who has completed just one pass this season behind Mateer.
As a true freshman in 2024, Hawkins saw action in seven games last season. On the year, he completed 63.3 percent of his passes for three touchdowns and two interceptions. He is a former 3-star quarterback prospect from the class of 2024 out of McKinney, Texas.
Here's a look at Oklahoma's current quarterback depth chart:
| Position | QB |
| QB No. 1 | John Mateer (injured) |
| QB No. 2 | Michael Hawkins Jr. |
| QB No. 3 | Whitt Newbauer |
Oklahoma plays Kent State at home this Saturday, which will be Hawkins' first start this season.
Oklahoma remaining schedule
Here's a look at the Sooners' remaining schedule for 2025. As you can see, some of their biggest games remain in front of them.
But it sounds like based on the early estimated timeline, Mateer could return just in time for Oklahoma's tough stretch of games beginning in late October:
- Oct. 4: vs. Kent State
- Oct. 11: vs. No. 10 Texas (in Dallas)
- Oct. 18: @ South Carolina
- Oct. 25: vs. No. 13 Ole Miss
- Nov. 1: @ No. 15 Tennessee
- Nov. 15: @ No. 17 Alabama
- Nov. 22: vs. No. 20 Missouri
- Nov. 29: vs. No. 4 LSU
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