A week ago, Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer stood on the Sooners' sideline dressed out in full gear before the game against Kent State, but with a noticeable brace on his right hand that kept him out of the game.
On Saturday, 17 days after having surgery to repair a hand injury, Mateer will be fully dressed again and is listed as probable to play in the annual Red River Rivalry game against the Texas Longhorns.
The burning question for the past couple of weeks around Norman and throughout the college football world has been how soon Mateer would be ready to return to action. Initial reports after the surgery were that it would be about a month for someone to recover from this type of injury, which the Mateer suffered in the first quarter of Oklahoma's Sept. 20 win over Auburn.
John Mateer playing vs Texas is risk-reward decision for Sooners
Surgery was performed the following Wednesday in Los Angeles by prominent hand surgeon Dr. Steven Shin, who also performed similar successful surgeries on Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Jalen Williams and Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff.
From Oklahoma's perspective, the recovery timeline couldn't have worked out better for the Sooners. They had a bye week after the Auburn game, and then a nonconference game the following week against a Kent State team that had won just two of its last 28 games before coming to Norman to play the Sooners.
With Mateer's game status having been upgraded from questionable on Wednesday to probable on Thursday, it appears he is going to play against Texas on Saturday afternoon. It is also a brilliant flash of the obvious that Oklahoma's chances of beating the Longhorns in Game 121 of the Red River Rivalry is greatly enhanced with Mateer at quarterback.
The unanswered question now becomes how effective will Mateer be throwing the football with a throwing hand that is likely not 100%, with ESPN's Pete Thamel reporting Mateer's pain and ability to grip are the deciding factors if he plays. How will it affect his ability to get a firm grip on the football and deliver accurate passes, especially on deep throws?
We won't know the answer to that, of course, until live game action on Saturday, but Gene Chizik, former head coach at Iowa State and Auburn and now a college football analyst for the SEC Network, reminded listeners on the Dari Nowkhah Show on KREF Sports Radio on Friday that when quarterbacks are unable to get a good grip on the football, passes tend to sail high. That would not be a good thing going against a defense as good as Texas. Bad things tend to happen when passes are tipped up in the air or overthrown.
The risk of rushing Mateer back to action ahead of schedule or before he is fully ready to perform is also high. Were he to reinjure his hand while throwing a pass or even fall awkwardly and land on the hand after being hit, it could result in a season-ending injury.
The Washington State transfer is a true competitor and will always say he can play through whatever pain he may be feeling, like he did in finishing out the final three quarters of the Auburn game and throwing for 271 yards, including a 31-yard dime to wide receiver Isaiah Sategna late in the fourth quarter that set Oklahoma up at the Auburn nine-yard line on the way to the winning touchdown. But is the risk truly worth the potential reward?
Another dilemma that could come up in Saturday's game is what will Brent Venables and offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle decide to do should it become apparent that Mateer's injury is negatively impacting his performance? Do you make a change and bring in Michael Hawkins Jr., or do they ride it out as long as they can, hoping things will get better and their QB1 can avoid further injury.
No one outside of the players and the OU coaching staff have seen Mateer's performance in practice this week. Presumably, the coaches and medical staff feel that he is good enough to go and that the reward is greater than the risk. You have to trust their judgement and knowledge of what's at stake in the decision to clear Mateer to return to action. It's also important to note, however, that actual game speed is much different than what players experience and go through in practice the week before a game.
Mateer is definitely a big part of Oklahoma's success this season, but the truth is, he is one of many moving parts that have contributed to the Sooners' 5-0 start to the 2025 season and No. 6 national ranking.
It's going to take everybody and all three phases of Oklahoma's game on Saturday to overcome a desperate Texas team that's back is up against the wall and can be expected to play one of its best games of the season against its hated rivals from north of the Red River.