Venables criticized student reporters from OU Daily Sports, the school’s independent news organization, after they traveled to Max Westheimer Airport to cover quarterback John Mateer’s return from California. Mateer traveled via private jet to have surgery on a broken bone in his right hand.

OU football coach Brent Venables is supremely confident in quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. while John Mateer is out with a hand injury.

The quarterback Mateer trailed in the Heisman race just got a surprise boost. Indiana 's Fernando Mendoza was a steep riser on his own and clinched frontrunner status entering Week 5 even before the Oklahoma star's injury. Now he has a clear lead on the rest of the country.