John Mateer’s road back from injury was never going to be easy, but no one expected his most public misstep would come from a casual exchange. Mateer was working hard to rehab after wrist surgery that sidelined him following a crucial win over Auburn. He was pushing through pain and grinding with his coaches to make it back for Oklahoma’s Red River showdown against Texas. Despite the physical and mental toll, Mateer says his biggest mistake during the process wasn’t about football. Instead, it was trusting the wrong person.

When J.D. Pickell directly asked whether the Chipotle saga was real, John Mateer owned up to it in a raw admission. “No, that was me not realizing who I can trust and who I can’t trust. Yeah, it was real. I didn’t think he would go and tell the world about it,” Mateer explained. “It’s not my favorite thing. It’s not my favorite thing somebody’s ever done on the other side of what I told them. But that’s my fault. Shouldn’t say anything. Shouldn’t be throwing my business out there ,but yeah, it’s real.” 

The story started when a message board user claimed to have overheard Mateer at a Norman Chipotle. He was telling an employee his hand was “great” and that he was “100% going to play vs Texas.” That info quickly spread and set off a firestorm on social media, even prompting Chipotle itself to weigh in with a joke.​ For Mateer, the Chipotle leak forced him to reevaluate who he could trust, even among casual interactions. 

“Shouldn’t say anything. Shouldn’t be throwing my business out there,” he told Pickell. The sudden burst of attention made him realize how quickly a simple interaction could spin out of his control and give Texas an edge with their preparations for the rivalry. Even though Sarkisian said that they would prepare for Mateer, it was not at all confirmed if Mateer would play or if Michael Hawkins Jr would take the field. But rumors spread like wildfire, and it was enough of a hint for Sark. 

Looking back, the infamous Chipotle story almost overshadowed the real miracle of Mateer’s recovery, his lightning-fast return from hand surgery thanks to the work of Dr. Steven Shin. Dr. Shin performed what’s known as an “internal brace augmentation.” It’s a cutting-edge technique that strengthened Mateer’s repaired ligament and drastically sped up the healing process.​ 

Despite hurdles and public missteps, Mateer pushed through and got back on the field ahead of schedule. And this incident will always be etched in his mind whenever he orders his next tortilla.

The post-injury slide

The numbers tell a brutal story. Before Mateer’s hand injury against Auburn, he was averaging 304 yards per game and looked every bit the Heisman Trophy candidate he was hyped up to be. He had completed 95 of 141 passes for 1,215 yards and six touchdowns in his first four games. Moreover, his rushing game was also on point. He rushed for 190 yards and ranked second nationally with 351.3 yards of total offense per game. 

Since coming back from surgery, Mateer’s production has fallen off a cliff. Mateer dropped to just 192 yards per game after returning. Oklahoma has stumbled to a 1-2 record in the games he’s played since the injury. The offense that once rolled up 495 yards in the season opener now looks disjointed, stagnant, and downright predictable.​

The Red River Rivalry exposed just how far Mateer and the Sooners had regressed. Making his return just 17 days after surgery on his throwing hand, Mateer completed a season-low 53 percent of his passes for 202 yards. He didn’t throw a single touchdown. Instead, he tossed three interceptions, narrowly avoiding a pick-six on his first throw of the second half.

He was also sacked five times as Texas cruised to a 23-6 win. It was the first time in 17 career starts that Mateer failed to account for a touchdown either passing or rushing. His three picks matched his total from the first four games of the season combined. Worse yet, Oklahoma managed just 88 total yards in the second half and failed to reach the end zone for the third time in four years at the Cotton Bowl. The offense looked broken, and fans immediately questioned whether the Sooners rushed their star quarterback back too soon.​