Mason Young
Tulsa World OU Sports Reporter
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NORMAN — Brent Venables prophesied on his radio show Monday night that quarterback John Mateer will push the record for coming back from an in-season thumb surgery. Oklahoma’s head coach also emphasized, though, that Mateer shouldn’t overdo it in rehab and risk reinjury.
Offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle, who came with Mateer from Washington State to OU over the offseason, believes his pupil will handle the rehab process well.
“(Mateer) understands his body,” Arbuckle said at his press conference Tuesday. “He understands the recovery process and everything, and he’s going to stick to that process, and if there’s a grey area, he may trend more toward the darker shade of the grey than the lighter shade of grey in the recovery. But that just stems from him being a competitor and wanting to be the best player, best person and most ready for his teammates as possible. He’s a pro in how he approaches everything, and yeah, that’s about it, really.”
In the meantime, Mateer has a role to play in helping sophomore backup Michael Hawkins Jr. get ready to start against Kent State at 3 p.m. Saturday.
Hawkins could start multiple games, depending on how long it takes Mateer to recover from his operation.
It’s sort of a neat role reversal from Mateer’s time at Washington State, when he was mentored by eventual No. 1 NFL draft pick Cam Ward.
“I got to see Cam and John’s relationship and how Cam interacted with John whenever he was the backup quarterback and the questions and everything that John would have for him and how Cam would answer them,” Arbuckle said. “I think that stuck with John. I think John knows that it’s not all about me. I’ve got to make sure that I’m making everyone better. I think that’s the mark of a great leader and a great player is you’re making everyone better, even the guys in your position room. And the cool thing about Mike is he’s absorbed it. It’s really been fun to see their relationship really grow. Mike Hawkins, during games, whenever something good happens, he’s right there dapping up John, celebrating. That’s a great teammate, right?
“The work that goes into being the backup quarterback is really the same work that goes into being the starting quarterback and Mike is a very aware kid, very cerebral kid, and John has had success being a starting quarterback. … So seeing the things that John does really well, ‘Hey I’m going to try to emulate that,’ and ‘Hey, maybe John does this and that doesn’t match me personally or that doesn’t match my game, how can I do something different?’ I think Mike has done a great job of that and so it’s really cool to see their relationship build.”
Venables has also been pleased with the evolution of Mateer and Hawkins’ relationship. OU didn’t have an experienced quarterback to mentor Hawkins last year, but now it has a savvy veteran to pour into the understudy.
“When you have the right people, to me, it’s invaluable,” Venables said. “John, his approach is very well received, and Mike — his humility to learn from a guy that’s within a couple of years of age, saying, ‘Hey man, I want to do some things like you do. There’s a lot that you can teach me.’ A lot of young guys are too cool for school and they don’t want to admit that or accept that. Mike’s been a sponge. John’s got a great approach. He’s not trying to teach anybody, but he certainly can.
“It’s really cool to see that relationship. Mike’s come a long way. Mike would be the first one to tell you that maybe a year ago he was very insulated when it comes to learning from people around him. Just several months later, things have changed. I do think that the people in the room matter, as well.”
mason.young@tulsaworld.com
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Mason Young
Tulsa World OU Sports Reporter
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