Mateer draws questionable tag on first SEC report

The status of John Mateer for Saturday’s Allstate Red River Rivalry game against Texas remained up in the air Wednesday as the star Oklahoma quarterback was listed as questionable on the initial SEC availability report for this week.

Mateer is recovering from Sept. 24 hand surgery, and sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel earlier this week that Mateer is pushing for an earlier-than-expected return against the Longhorns on Saturday.

Asked about Mateer’s status earlier Wednesday, Sooners coach Brent Venables deferred to the upcoming availability report.

“It’ll come out here tonight and everybody will get it at the same time,” Venables told reporters.

Additional availability reports will come out Thursday and Friday nights, as well as 90 minutes before the 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff Saturday in Dallas.

Mateer, the favorite for the Heisman Trophy at the time of the injury, was hurt in the first quarter of Oklahoma’s 24-17 win over Auburn on Sept. 20. He played the rest of the game and finished 24-of-36 for 271 yards.

He has missed just one game since the announcement of his injury, as No. 6 Oklahoma had a bye and then played Kent State last week. Michael Hawkins Jr. started at quarterback against the Golden Flashes, leading the Sooners to a 44-0 win.

ESPN’s Eli Lederman contributed to this report.