In His First Public Comments, OC Ben Arbuckle Tells How He Landed at Oklahoma: 'I Had to Run to It'

The Sooners' new offensive coordinator took his wife to an OU game on their first date, but said coaching at OU "is a dream."

Oklahoma coach Brent Venables and offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle. / OU Athletics

NORMAN — It doesn’t sound like new offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle will be made available for press conferences any time soon.

So for now, Oklahoma fans will have to settle for hearing Arbuckle talk about himself and his offense via Wednesday’s National Signing Day show on Sooner Sports TV.

He jumped right in when asked about how he and head coach Brent Venables originally touched base.

“Just a few weeks ago, Coach Venables gave me a shout," Arbuckle said. “We’re on the phone, and it took me all of two or three minutes to really hear his vision, hear his passion for this place. Immediate attraction. Take aside everything that’s fantastic about this place — the rich tradition, the rich history — hearing from the man himself what this place means to him, and what he sees the future of this place being, is something that I instantly wanted to be a part of.”

Earlier Wednesday, Venables talked at length about what he liked about Arbuckle, and Arbuckle’s offense, as well as Arbuckle’s character.

In the studio interview with Venables sitting next to him, the native of Canadian, TX, returned some of the same sentiments.

“Coach Venables gave me the opportunity, and I had to run to it,” Arbuckle said. “I’m proud to be here. Very proud to be here.”

Venables said Arbuckle and his wife Lauren flew into Norman on Tuesday night. On the show, Venables revealed their first date was the 2012 OU-Notre Dame football game in Norman.

“Somebody raised that girl right,” Venables said. “She comes from an OU family out there in Canadian, Texas.”

“She grew up a Boomer Sooner,” Arbuckle said. “Been going to basketball camps here, been going to games her whole life. Our first date, I wanted to make an impression, so I took her to an OU game. And here we are 12 years later, and we’re very proud to be here. And we’re ready to get this thing rolling.”

Eventually, Arbuckle did talk about his offensive philosophies.

“The first thing that I always want to do is make sure we establish the line of scrimmage," he said. “Establish that intent of dominance, right? Who better than Coach (Bill) Bedenbaugh and Coach (Joe Jon) Finley to set that vision in motion? They’re the best in the country, they’re here, and I can’t wait to work side-by-side with them to do that.

“The next thing is, everybody likes points, right? I like points. Everyone here should like points. So everything we can do to move the ball down the field, put points on the board, play complimentary football with the defense — play full team football. I think that is pivotal in the success not only of an offense, but of a program as a whole.”

Arbuckle has a significant rebuild ahead. Quarterback Jackson Arnold ranks last in the SEC in passing yards per game, and the Sooners rank 94th in the country in scoring and 131st nationally in sacks allowed.

“You attack it head on,” Arbuckle said. The biggest thing, first and foremost, is meeting the staff.”

It’s a staff — Bedenbaugh, Finley, running backs coach DeMarco Murray and wide receivers coach Emmett Jones — that Venables said will be retained next year. 

It’s also a staff that welcomes in 18 incoming freshmen in one of the nation’s top 15 recruiting classes.

“These coaches did an unbelievable job," Arbuckle said. "Everybody in the personnel department and everybody in scouting did an unbelievable job of … finding the right talent, acquiring them, and bringing them here to OU. So I see playmakers all over the field. I see the right kind of guys. Some of these guys, I know their high school coaches, and these are the right guys for Oklahoma, and everybody in this program did an unbelievable job.”

Ultimately, Arbuckle is enamored with his new position. But the former Uber Eats driver is still willing to put in the work to get the job done.

“It’s a dream,” he said. “OU is known everywhere, but especially where I’m from. I’ve had people where I graduated high school play here.

“The brand speaks for itself and carries its weight everywhere you go, and It’s something I’m extremely proud and honored to do.”