Oklahoma HC Brent Venables Addresses John Mateer's Status, Indoor Practice, Ahead of Texas

At his weekly press conference ahead of the Red River Rivalry, the Sooners' head coach addressed plenty of topics, including the addition of padding around Owen Field.

Oklahoma coach Brent Venables spent plenty of time in his weekly press conference Tuesday talking about John Mateer's status. | Carson Field, Sooners on SI

NORMAN — Ahead of Saturday's Red River Rivalry showdown vs. unranked Texas, Oklahoma coach Brent Venables held his weekly press conference Tuesday.

Unsurprisingly, the biggest theme of the press conference was the Sooners' quarterback situation, with John Mateer having missed last week's win over Kent State but reportedly making progress and having a chance to return for Saturday's 2:30 p.m. game at the Cotton Bowl.

"The coaches, staff, players recognize the challenge and opportunity both to be able to go to Dallas and be able to compete against a preseason No. 1 team that has lost two really tough games," Venables said.

Here are five takeaways from Venables' press conference:

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Read More Oklahoma vs. Texas

• Oklahoma QB John Mateer 'Pushing to Return' for Texas, per Report
• Why Oklahoma DB Eli Bowen Feels Comfortable Ahead of the Red River Rivalry
• The Sooners’ Texas Game Plan: Don’t Let ‘Oklahoma Beat Oklahoma’
• Large Group of Oklahoma Players Poised to Make Their Red River Debuts Saturday

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Brent Venables Shuts Down John Mateer Return Talk

Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer was in full pads on the sideline against Kent State with a brace on his throwing hand. | NATE BILLINGS/FOR THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Brent Venables doesn't typically cut off questions.

But he did Tuesday when asked about Mateer's potential for return.

"He's doing his normal protocol," Venables said. "He's done zero good-on-good work," Venables said, succinctly, when asked about Mateer's status.

It didn't take long into a follow-up question about the biggest challenges for Mateer coming back from his hand injury for Venables to cut things off.

"I don't know anything about the injury," Venables said. "When they tell me he's available, I'll let you know."

The questions didn't stop, however.

"I'm just leaning on the doctors," Venables said. "I'm not an expert. That's the extent of it. ... John is doing no good-on-good work. So it's Michael (Hawkins Jr.) and Whitt (Newbauer) right now. Something changes, I'll let you know."

Venables: Indoor Practice About Heat, not Deception

The Sooners' practice Monday was held in the Everest Indoor Training Center instead of outdoors on the typical practice fields.

Whether it's to be believed or not, Venables said the reason for moving the practice indoors was due to the heat rather than trying to keep the wraps on who will play quarterback.

"It was almost 90 degrees yesterday, so the strain of the season is real," Venables said, pointing out that the indoor facility only recently added air conditioning. "... Just trying to be mindful of that."

Of course, Venables is also aware of fairly recent OU history on the quarterback front.

In 2021, reporters witnessed Caleb Williams taking the majority of the first-team reps after taking over for Spencer Rattler when Williams replaced Rattler to help lead the Sooners to a comeback victory over Texas the week before.

Venables: Padding Being Added Around Owen Field

Wide receiver Keontez Lewis suffered a scary injury against Kent State, crashing into the brick wall in the north end zone at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

The sidelines around Owen Field are notoriously tight, and outside of some padding in the stadium's corners, the wall has remained exposed brick.

Oklahoma's training staff evaluated receiver Keontez Lewis following his scary collision with the wall on Saturday. | NATE BILLINGS/FOR THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Venables said Tuesday that was changing,. although he didn't have the particulars.

"I think they're putting some padding," Venables said. "I don't know exactly when or how much or all that but I think they're putting some padding in that area."

Lewis has started the first five games for the Sooners and it appears he avoided serious injury in the collision.

Venables: Hawkins Handles Starting Role Well

Oklahoma quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr., left, prepares to take a snap next to running back Jaydn Ott (0) during the second half of last week's win vs. Kent State. | NATE BILLINGS/FOR THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Venables said Hawkins Jr. came in to review the win over Kent State with a critical eye.

"He came in and had good awareness, self awareness," Venables said. " ... He led the way from an accountability standpoint and again, he played in a really efficient way."

Hawkins was 14-of-24 for 162 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 33 yards and a touchdown in the win vs. Kent State.

Venables Likes D-Line's 'Dog Pound' Label

Oklahoma defensive tackle David Stone coined the nickname "The Dog Pound" for the Sooners' defensive line. | NATE BILLINGS/FOR THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

OU's defensive line has lebeled itself "The Dog Pound," a moniker that originated from David Stone.

"I like the engagement," Venables said. "To me, that says there's great ownership in that group. If they name them something and they played like a bunch of pansies, it wouldn't be any good. We'd stop that quickly. But they haven't.

"They like to work, they like to compete, they let you coach them hard. ... These guys like it, so I have a great appreciation for ownership and identity that they are taking a lot of pride in."

The Sooners are first nationally in total defense, sacks per game, tackle-for-loss per game, third-down conversion percentage defense and opponent's punts per game.