Mason Young

Tulsa World OU Sports Reporter

NORMAN — John Mateer was raring to go when Oklahoma football came back from its bye weekend and resumed practice Monday.

“From the very beginning, he’s out there stretching with the guys,” head coach Brent Venables recounted Monday night on his radio show. “From the very beginning, he’s right there for the walk. So he’s a guy that you gotta kinda pull back.”

As much as OU appreciates that resilience and show of leadership, Mateer did just have surgery on his injured thumb five days earlier, after hurting it in the No. 5 Sooners’ Sept. 20 win over Auburn.

Venables is urging Mateer to play the long game and not rush back to action, so that OU’s Heisman Trophy contender can be fully healthy at the season’s climax.

“He’s going to push the limits

See Full Page