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Everything to know about Oklahoma's new offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle

The Sooners are reportedly hiring the Washington State offensive coordinator on a three-year deal.

By Dekota Gregory

Sep 28, 2024; Auburn, Alabama, USA; An Oklahoma Sooners helmet is shown before the game against the Auburn Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-Imagn Images
Sep 28, 2024; Auburn, Alabama, USA; An Oklahoma Sooners helmet is shown before the game against the Auburn Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-Imagn Images / John Reed-Imagn Images
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Oklahoma reportedly has a new offensive coordinator. 

Pete Thamel reported Monday that OU is hiring Washington State offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Ben Arbuckle. According to Thamel, it will be a three-year deal. 

Arbuckle, at only 29, was a hot commodity after being nominated for the Broyles Award, which is given to the top assistant coach in the FBS. His Cougar offense averaged 36.75 points and 441 yards a game this season. And Washington State accomplished that after losing quarterback Cam Ward to Miami through the transfer portal last offseason. 

Washington State’s 36.75 points a game made it the 12th-best scoring offense in the country this season. The Cougars ranked 22nd in total offense. In Arbuckle’s Air Raid offense, quarterback John Mateer was in the top 12 in all of FBS in passing yards and passing touchdowns. He was tied for fourth in the nation with 29 passing TDs. Ironically, Ward, Arbuckle’s former QB1, leads the country with 36. 

Last season, with Ward at quarterback, Washington State was fourth in the nation in passing yards per game while averaging 336.8. The Cougars also averaged 31.7 points and 421.7 yards a game.

The biggest knock on Arbuckle, especially when taking over such a storied offensive program like OU, is that he’s been calling plays at the college level for only three seasons. His first stint was at Western Kentucky in 2022, when he was a co-offensive coordinator and helped guide the Hilltoppers to being ranked sixth in total offense and 15th in scoring. Quarterback Austin Reed led the nation with 4,746 passing yards and also had 40 touchdowns, which was ranked 15th in FBS. 

It’s been a quick rise for Arbuckle, as he was an offensive coordinator at Seminole High School in Texas as recent as 2020. He then took an offensive quality control role at Western Kentucky in 2021 and helped coach Bailey Zappe, who broke the NCAA record for passing yards and passing touchdowns in a single season that year. Arbuckle also had an offensive quality control role with Houston Baptist in 2018-19. 

Before his coaching career, Arbuckle was a quarterback at West Texas A&M.

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