How New Oklahoma OC Ben Arbuckle Has 'Blended Very Well' in First Days on the Job

Though he won't be calling plays in the Armed Forces Bowl, new Oklahoma offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle is already making his presence felt in Norman.

New Oklahoma offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle / James Snook-Imagn Images

NORMAN — Oklahoma’s new offensive coordinator is already getting acclimated in Norman. 

Ben Arbuckle, the 29-year-old offensive mind who Brent Venables tasked with transforming the offense, won’t be calling plays or anything like that during OU’s Armed Forces Bowl showing against Navy on Dec. 27.

“It’s too much to ask of a guy that really doesn’t know the personnel, the people, those types of things,” Venables said of Arbuckle’s role during bowl prep last week. “Our staff will handle that.”

But that doesn’t mean the new offensive coordinator isn’t getting a head start on familiarizing himself with his new colleagues and players. 

“He’s blended in really well,” Venables said on Friday. “Again, he’s a relationship guy. He’s got a lot of humility. He certainly has respect for people in the building. And so it was a very natural transition for him up to this point. He’s spent a lot of time trying to get to know players and the rest of the staff. So it’s been great.”

Arbuckle’s already made a good impression with the players, too.

"He's a great guy,” OU quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. said. “Real personal, someone you can relate to since he's so young and he's really shown his personality since he's gotten here. So he's been a great guy to be around so far."

He wasted no time teasing some of his future players, too, said Sooners center Troy Everett. 

“It's been great,” Everett said. “I went up and talked to him his first day here and found out he was at Western (Kentucky) my freshman year, and we played (them) in the bowl game, and they absolutely destroyed us. So we had a friendly banter back and forth on that. But he's been awesome. I love him. So excited to get to work with him.”

Running back Xavier Robinson said he could immediately sense Arbuckle’s enthusiasm for getting right to work in Norman. 

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“I like him,” Robinson said. “Everybody talks about a young coach, but, you know, it seemed like he's really into this. It seems like he’s personally excited for this. Wants to have fun. When you having fun, it makes everything a lot easier.”

Hawkins, who never wavered about staying put in Norman despite the coordinator change, said he was able to start talking with Arbuckle about the new offense. The freshman, who is in line to start against Navy, is excited about what the new scheme will bring next year. 

"I love his offense,” Hawkins said. “More of an Air-Raid system, get the ball down the field so I love that."

There’s still plenty to get done before Arbuckle even gets to start installing his offense during spring football. 

The Sooners are undergoing an extreme roster makeover on the offensive side of the ball. OU essentially must rebuild its entire receiver room and land a couple of quarterbacks to join Hawkins and 2025 signee Jett Niu. 

And while Arbuckle is hard at work trying to land the next crop of Sooners who will take the field next fall out of the transfer portal, he’s still found ways to help Oklahoma during bowl practice. 

“It was fun. (Friday) he was out there throwing,” Venables said. “We were spreading it out working some of the pass skelly stuff that we were doing and he was out there so if there’s five guys getting out, five balls are flying. So he got his arm warmed up and threw a few post routes and a few unders. So that was great to see.”