Official: Oklahoma Names Ben Arbuckle as Offensive Coordinator

Brent Venables and the Sooners hired Arbuckle from Washington State, where the Cougars put up big numbers over the last two seasons.

Ben Arbuckle at Washington State / Screenshot via WSU YouTube

By OU Media Relations

NORMAN — University of Oklahoma head football coach Brent Venables announced Monday that he has hired Ben Arbuckle as the Sooners' new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Arbuckle, who will call offensive plays, joins the OU staff after serving the last two seasons in the same capacity at Washington State University. He has presided over a 2024 Cougars offense that ranks 12th nationally with its 36.8 points per game.

This year's Washington State squad, which is 8-4 overall (the eight wins are its most since 2018), also ranks sixth out of 130 FBS teams in passing touchdowns (30), eighth in yards per pass attempt (9.1), ninth in passing efficiency rating (165.2), 12th in yards per completion (13.9), 14th in yards per play (6.7), 22nd in total offense (440.4 ypg), 24th in passing offense (268.8 ypg) and rushing touchdowns (27), 27th in turnovers lost (12), 28th in completion percentage (.652), 31st in interceptions thrown (7) and 55th in rushing offense (171.6 ypg). WSU has rushed for over 100 yards in 11 games (its most since 2005) and 89 yards in the other.

In Arbuckle's first year at Washington State in 2023, the Cougars ranked fourth nationally in passing offense at 336.8 ypg (up from 44th and 253.8 ypg the year before his arrival), 35th in total offense at 421.7 ypg (up from 93rd and 360.7 ypg), 36th with its 147.2 passing efficiency rating (up from 71st and 132.3 figure) and 37th in scoring offense at 31.7 ppg (up from 79th and 26.1 ppg).

Quarterback Cam Ward ranked third in the country in 2023 in completions per game (26.9), fourth in passing offense (311.3 ypg) and sixth in total offense (323.3 ypg). The Cougars posted 400-plus yards of total offense in seven games, including a season-high 718 in a win over Northern Colorado and 528 in a victory over No. 14 Oregon State. Against the Beavers, Ward completed 29 of 35 passes for 422 yards and four touchdowns en route to being named national player of the week. He and wide receiver Lincoln Victor were named 2023 All-Pac-12 performers.

Combined over Arbuckle’s two seasons at Washington State, the Cougars rank 10th nationally in passing yards per game (302.7) and in passing touchdowns (57), 12th in touchdown/interception ratio (3.56), 13th in passing efficiency rating (154.5), 20th in scoring offense (34.2 ppg) and 22nd in touchdowns from scrimmage (101).

"Ben is an extremely passionate and innovative coach who does a great job of finding ways to maximize his personnel," said Venables. "He has developed dynamic quarterbacks in his young coaching career and sees the QB game through a unique perspective and lens, as he played the position himself. He's got an infectious energy and mindset, and is a fantastic teacher of the game with an impeccable work ethic. He relates well to young people, and his beliefs, values and concern for student-athletes on their journey align with our values and philosophy here at OU.

"Thanks to his unique blend of experience, Ben does an incredible job utilizing multiple personnel groups and putting tremendous stress — both vertical and systematic — on defenses. He's overseen quarterback-friendly, big-play offenses and thrives at putting players in position to be successful. That track record will attract some of the most dynamic and explosive players in the country.

“I'm incredibly excited to see our offense reach new heights under Ben's guidance and leadership, working alongside the rest of our offensive staff of Coach (Joe Jon) Finley, Coach (Bill) Bedenbaugh, Coach (DeMarco) Murray and Coach (Emmett) Jones.”

The 29-year-old Arbuckle has quickly ascended the coaching ranks. He began his coaching career in a quality control role at Houston Baptist University for two years (2018-19), working mainly with the offensive line his first season and the quarterbacks his second.

After spending the 2020 season as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Seminole High School in Seminole, TX, Arbuckle landed at Western Kentucky University as an offensive quality control staffer and contributed to a 2021 offense that led the nation in passing (433.7 ypg) and ranked second in total offense (536.2 ypg) and scoring (44.2 ppg). He helped mentor quarterback Bailey Zappe, who broke single-season FBS records for passing yards (5,967) and passing touchdowns (62).

Arbuckle, who is from the small town of Canadian in the Texas panhandle, was promoted to co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for WKU's 2022 season. In his first year as a full-time coach, he served as primary play-caller and promptly helped the Hilltoppers finish second nationally in passing yards (339.0 ypg), seventh in total offense (497.1 ypg) and 15th in scoring offense (36.4 ppg), and guided quarterback Austin Reed to a nation-leading 4,746 passing yards and respective No. 3 and 4 rankings in passing touchdowns (40) and total offense (355.0 ypg). The season culminated with a 44-23 win over South Alabama in the New Orleans Bowl, resulting in a 9-5 overall record. In that game, WKU racked up 677 yards of total offense, including a New Orleans Bowl-record 522 passing yards. Arbuckle was named to 247Sports' 30-Under-30 list of rising college football coaching stars that season.

"Right off the bat, my first conversation with Coach Venables got me really excited," said Arbuckle. "Hearing his vision for the program and the OU offense, I was in total alignment and ready to roll. To have this opportunity to join the University of Oklahoma football program, with its longstanding tradition of excellence, was so enticing to me and I wanted to be a part of it more than anything. It's an honor and a privilege to be in this situation and I'm ready to hit the ground running and get this thing going.

"We're going to run an attacking-style offense. I want to take the fight to the defense. I want to put our guys in position to be successful at all times, and ultimately go out there and be explosive and put a product on the field that Sooner Nation is proud of. I'm excited to get to Norman and get to work."

When asked more about his preferred style of offense, Arbuckle said it can vary from year to year.

"I've always played to the strength of my personnel. The personnel drives the scheme," he explained. "There have been years where the best thing for the team to be successful was throwing the ball a lot, and there have been years where the best thing for the team was to establish the line of scrimmage and get rolling. That's how I'll always approach it. What gets us in the best position to be successful is what we're going to do. My mentors come from a bunch of different trees, whether that's the 'Air Raid' tree, the 'West Coast' tree, the 'Pro Style' tree. I have mentors from all different backgrounds, and they've all helped mold me into what you see on the field now."

Arbuckle added, "I’ve been fortunate to have great men in this profession trust me and give me the opportunity to lead their offenses. That is a responsibility I have never taken lightly and am thankful for the belief from all of those men."

Arbuckle attended Canadian High School before playing quarterback at West Texas A&M University. He graduated in 2018 with a dual degree in finance and economics. He and his wife, Lauren, have a son named Hudson.