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Brent Venables Says New OC Ben Arbuckle Will Coach Oklahoma QBs in Bowl Game

The Sooners were expecting Kevin Johns to coach the Sooners' quarterbacks, but the plan has changed as OU prepares to face Navy.

John E. Hoover

Oklahoma coach Brent Venables and offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle.
Oklahoma coach Brent Venables and offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle. / OU Athletics
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Brent Venables has had a change of plans.

Oklahoma’s head coach said on Wednesday’s “Sooner Football With Brent Venables” show that new offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle will indeed have an on-field role in the upcoming Armed Forces Bowl against Navy.

“He’s gonna coach the quarterbacks,” Venables told sideline reporter Chris Plank.

Arbuckle — who just officially landed Washington State transfer quarterback John Mateer earlier on Wednesday evening — was not expected to participate as a coach when the Sooners take on Navy on Dec. 27 in the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth. Venables said he was simply going to recruit and unpack and get the lay of the land in Norman.

But a change in the OU staff necessitated Arbuckle’s involvement.

“Kevin Johns took a job at Oklahoma State,” Venables said, “and good for him. He's a great coach. So we're very supportive of that. They needed him to go there full-time now, because they don't — their quarterback room needs attention, and there's a recruiting piece."

Tight ends coach and co-offensive coordinator Joe Jon Finley will continue to call plays in the bowl game, keeping the same continuity on offense OU has had since Venables fired Seth Littrell at midseason.

“Those are the circumstances,” Venables said.

With Mateer’s announcement on Wednesday — thanks to a big financial assist from the 1Oklahoma NIL collective — Arbuckle’s recruiting piece for December is pretty much accomplished.

Now he can get to know the OU quarterback room he hopes to be working with starting next semester: freshman Michael Hawkins and redshirt freshman walk-on Steele Wasel. Seventh-year senior Casey Thompson, who will backup Hawkins in Fort Worth, will be out of eligibility in 2025.

“He’ll coach and support the staff and whatever role other than coaching the quarterbacks that he can,” Venables said, “but he's trying to get situated and unpack as well. But he'll do a great job.”

Venables said the coming nine days will be a good opportunity for Hawkins to get to know Arbuckle as a position coach.

“Fundamentals, and his style, I think, is the biggest transition right now for for Mike,” Venables said. “Casey won't be playing quarterback for us next year, so he's the only other guy that Ben is working with right now. But it gives a precursor for Mike to get used to his style and his drill sequencing and things of that nature.” 

At practice last week, wide receiver Deion Burks said Hawkins was running with both the first and second team units.

"It was because Casey was sick," Venables said. "So we had one quarterback, so Mike was doing both first and second team. ... So he had to take every rep a couple days ago, Casey was just, he's a tough kid. He was only out one day, but it's flu season."

While the Sooners are 6-6 and stumbled to a 2-6 record in their first year in the Southeastern Conference, Navy is 9-3 and is coming off a decisive victory over then-No. 22 Army.

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Oklahoma opened as a 9-point favorite, but the line has moved and is now available anywhere from OU -4 to OU -6.5.

“We’re gonna have the whole world against us,” Venables joked. “It’s us against America.”

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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