Mason Young
Tulsa World OU Sports Reporter
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OU rallying around Mateer and Hawkins
Oklahoma is rallying around both of its quarterbacks — John Mateer and Michael Hawkins Jr. — as it comes out of its bye week to face Kent State at 3 p.m. Saturday.
Starting quarterback Mateer injured his hand during the No. 5 Sooners’ Sept. 20 win over Auburn and will be out for an indefinite amount of time. Backup quarterback Hawkins will step in to lead the OU offense until Mateer is ready to go again.
The news that Mateer was having surgery on his hand came out of the blue last week. He supposedly sustained the injury in the first quarter of the Auburn game, but played through it. That said something to the Washington State transfer’s OU teammates.
“That he’s a dog,” said OU safety Peyton Bowen. “Dead serious I was with (Mateer) that night and you wouldn’t even be able to tell. But that’s just how he carries himself. He’s so competitive. He made a play in fall camp on a jet sweep, blocked one of our corners. That’s how I know. From that play on, I was like yeah, he’s gonna go in there. He’s physical. Like he doesn’t care about his body in a sense. … He’s gonna lay it on the line for this team.”
Now, Hawkins steps under center after appearing in seven games and making four starts as a freshman last season. He played well at Auburn and in the Armed Forces Bowl versus Navy, and not so well in between, against Texas and South Carolina.
This time, though, Hawkins has experience under his belt and a new offensive coordinator in Ben Arbuckle to guide him along the way, lending to the hope that OU can survive and advance until Mateer returns.
“A lot of things have changed from last year,” head coach Brent Venables said. “Certainly the entire offensive system has changed. But I think there’s a comfort level to know what you’re getting into for both Mike and for the coaches.”
Hawkins’ only appearance so far this season came in garbage time of the Week 3 blowout win at Temple. There wasn’t much to extract from the one fourth quarter drive Hawkins led.
“You never know how those games are gonna go, so you don’t plan on what exactly you’re gonna have from a gameplan standpoint for different guys,” Venables said. “But (I saw) a guy that was ready to compete and was a very explosive playmaker.”
Rather than solely focusing on what Hawkins showed on one series, his coaches and teammates are more confident in his overall offseason body of work.
“I think that with the new staff we’ve got and the new quarterbacks coaching we have, he’s really developed really well,” Bowen said. “And he’s taken this whole time… to really learn from John, and not just John (Mateer) but Coach (John Kuceyeski) and Coach Arbuckle to really develop himself into an even better quarterback than he was.
“We never wavered when we got told the news. We were like, ‘Alright Mike. It’s your time to shine.’ Let’s do it. Let’s ride.”
And, veteran leaders like Bowen are in place to make sure that, however long Hawkins may be the starter, the weight of the Sooners’ fate is not all on his shoulders.
“We all know what we’re capable of, that one person doesn’t depict this team and make up all of our parts,” Bowen said. “So we’ve all got to just come together and play our hearts out for John now so that when he gets back, he’ll be able to lead an even better team now. And so that’s kind of where our mind’s at. We’re not gonna waiver at all. We’re just going head first into these opponents that we’ve got.”
Peyton Bowen believes turnovers will come
Through four games and coming out of the first bye week of the season, there’s one box left unchecked for Oklahoma’s dominant defense.
The Sooners rank second nationally in total defense (207.5 yards allowed per game) and third in scoring defense (nine points allowed per game), but they have yet to generate any takeaways from the opposing offense.
“We’re not forcing anything,” Bowen said. “Turnovers come. There’s games like Tulsa my freshman year (in 2023), five turnovers. The quarterback’s just throwing us the ball. I feel like teams have been very conservative against us in the way they’re playing.
“So we just can’t force anything. We’re playing great defense. The turnovers will come and whenever we need them, we’ll get them.”
Bowen had a shot to create the first takeaway when he nearly intercepted Jackson Arnold during the first quarter of OU’s win against Auburn, but Bowen dropped the ball.
“Man, I was sick after that,” Bowen said. “I’m not gonna lie, my whole mood was ruined. But I was just trying to get me another one, another opportunity. But it happens.”
In retrospect, what was it like for Bowen in facing his former Denton Guyer High School pal and OU roommate and teammate Arnold?
“I felt like a lot of energy,” Bowen said. “I don’t know. It was one game I just really didn’t want to lose. I don’t know what it was. I love Jackson still to this day. Talked after the game, talked the other day just texting about honestly just helping each other out.
“There’s a slim chance we see each other again. But all in all, we’re in this together. We both had the same path, same journey and we both want to have the same end goal. So we’re two competitors helping each other out.”
David Stone’s commitment rewarded
Stone had a disruptive day in OU’s last game against Auburn. The Del City native had one sack and nearly another half of one, if not for a penalty negating the latter.
“I think I busted my nose on one of them,” Stone said. “I think they threw a flag or something. It was a cool little moment. I was just ready to go out there and execute. That’s what I do, just go out there and do my job every play. That’s my goal. If a sack happens within me doing my job, godwilling, I’m all for it. It was surreal hearing the crowd. I just wanted to soak it all in and enjoy it and be there in that moment.”
Stone was the highest-rated defensive tackle in the Southeastern Conference by Pro Football Focus grade through the fourth week of the 2025 season.
Though he tested the transfer portal waters in the spring, Stone’s loyalty to OU and his summer and fall camp work is now being rewarded with an increased role and early success.
“I’ve had that same mindset since I’ve been here,” Stone said. “I gotta get better. I gotta get better daily. That’s been my focus. That’s been my drive. I want to do so much for the program. Just going back, building a legacy, that’s something I want to cement myself in. So having a game like that is good for me. It brings joy to me. For that legacy to be built, you’ve got to keep stacking daily, weeks, months, years and seasons.”
— Mason Young, Tulsa World
mason.young@tulsaworld.com
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Mason Young
Tulsa World OU Sports Reporter
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