{"id":361415,"date":"2025-11-07T04:48:16","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T04:48:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/361415\/"},"modified":"2025-11-07T04:48:16","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T04:48:16","slug":"inside-scoop-john-mateers-injury-status-was-revealed-by-chipotle-worker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/361415\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside scoop: John Mateer\u2019s injury status was revealed by Chipotle worker"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last month, as the college football world waited to hear if Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer would return from a thumb injury for the Red River Rivalry, a Chipotle employee in Norman already knew his status.<\/p>\n

Cooper Whitaker, a Chipotle worker, told the Tulsa World that he served Mateer after realizing the quarterback had entered the restaurant. He asked Mateer how his hand was doing.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo how\u2019s the thumb? Are you playing versus Texas?\u201d Whitaker asked Mateer.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, definitely,\u201d Mateer said.<\/p>\n

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The Chipotle tortilla presser who spoke with John Mateer caught up with me today about the interaction. Here is what he had to say plus if Mateer will be available for the Red River Rivalry pic.twitter.com\/JOuESuyYK7<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Michael thompson (@MichaelThomNews) October 9, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Whitaker would go public with the information, bringing to light intel that the team was going to great lengths to keep secret.<\/p>\n

Mateer confirmed the interaction during a podcast interview Thursday, admitting he had made a mistake.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was me not realizing who I can trust and who I can\u2019t trust. It was real,\u201d Mateer told On3\u2019s J.D. Pickell<\/a>. \u201cI didn\u2019t think he would go and tell the whole world about it. It\u2019s not my favorite thing somebody\u2019s ever done on the other side of what I told them. But that\u2019s my fault. You shouldn\u2019t say anything. I shouldn\u2019t be just throwing my business out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

The conversation reached various message boards during the week of the game. Oklahoma coach Brent Venables went to extreme lengths to keep Mateer\u2019s status a mystery, as the Sooners practiced in their Everest Indoor Training Center on Monday and Tuesday instead of on their standard outside practice fields.<\/p>\n

Venables said during the week that the decision was because it was 90 degrees outside.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know anything about the injury,\u201d Venables said in the week leading up to the Texas game. \u201cWhen they tell me he\u2019s available, I\u2019ll let you know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mateer eventually started against Texas in the Week 7 contest, throwing for just 202 yards and three interceptions. He completed only 52.6 percent of his passes in the Sooners\u2019 23-6 loss. The junior led Oklahoma to a 33-27 win over No. 14 Tennessee last week, though, and Oklahoma was ranked No. 12 in the initial College Football Playoff rankings revealed Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The Sooners\u2019 new quarterback said that while he appreciates the newfound attention he gets around Norman, he sometimes has to take a step back to spend time alone. That includes fewer trips to the local Chipotle.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got DoorDash. I don\u2019t really go out in public a whole lot to get food,\u201d Mateer said.<\/p>\n