This will be something parts of Sooner Nation either loves or hates to hear.
In a rare occurrence, Oklahoma offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh recently talked to local media after an OU practice and it was the first time he was able to be asked about his new leader — the 29-year-old offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle.
This isn’t the first time the veteran coach has been paired with a young OC, and Bedenbaugh, admitting some might not like to hear it, proclaimed that Arbuckle reminds him of former Sooners OC and head coach Lincoln Riley, who has since become the No. 1 enemy of Sooner Nation.
Sooners OL coach Bill Bedenbaugh compares Arbuckle to Lincoln Riley
“Love him, man,” Bedenbaugh said of Arbuckle. “The dude’s, he’s really, really, really good. I’ve told people this before, and they may not want to hear it — a young Lincoln (Riley).
“He’s smart. He understands everything. For a young guy, got great command. He knows exactly what he wants everybody to do.”
Bedenbaugh was not the first to make this comparison, just no one of relevance within OU’s football program had said it out loud yet. Both Arbuckle and Riley were born and raised in West Texas before becoming young offensive masterminds in college football. Arbuckle, though, took over the Sooners’ offense before even turning 30 and stepped into a much shakier situation.
Riley ultimately left in the middle of the night to be the head coach at USC and made his name like saying Voldemort’s in Norman. However, there’s no arguing Sooner Nation would still be thrilled with the same success that Riley brought OU’s offense.
Riley impressed enough as OC to be promoted as Bob Stoops’ successor. The Sooners had two different quarterbacks win a Heisman Trophy and be a No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick under Riley’s direction. He also led the Sooners to four Big 12 championships and to the College Football Playoff three times while it was still just four teams.
Other than being a coward who fled from the SEC, Riley’s glooming flaw was not putting a functioning defense on the field. The further removed OU was from Stoops, the worse the defense got.
Arbuckle, though, has Brent Venables, another great defensive head coach. Like Riley early in his career, Arbuckle has no worries about the defense. His only job is to put points on the board.
Also like Riley, Arbuckle has a stellar transfer quarterback in John Mateer, who is already being compared to Baker Mayfield, who went to OU to play for Stoops and Riley as a walk-on before transforming into a Heisman Trophy winner.
Arbuckle left the Pac-12 to take on the challenge of the SEC, while Riley did the exact opposite. Arbuckle has shown he’s at least without Riley’s major flaws, so if Bedenbaugh is correct in his early assessment, Sooner Nation should gladly take all the other characteristics as an offensive coordinator.
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