Oklahoma is hiring Washington State’s Ben Arbuckle as its new offensive coordinator, according to CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz. The 29-year old Arbuckle is set to replace Seth Littrell, who was fired seven games into the 2024 season, and will be the third full-time offensive coordinator in what will be four seasons under coach Brent Venables.
Arbuckle, a former tight end at West Texas A&M, has had a rapid ascent through the coaching ranks. He started as a quality control coach at Houston Baptist in 2018 and in 2021 accepted an offensive assistant position at Western Kentucky. He was elevated to offensive coordinator for the Mountaineers in 2022 and spent one season in that position before filling Washington State’s offensive coordinator vacancy in 2023.
In his few short years as an offensive coordinator, Arbuckle has guided some of college football’s most prolific passing offenses. In 2022, Western Kentucky quarterback Austin Reed led the nation with 4,744 yards passing — more than Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams — and tied for third with 40 touchdowns through the air.
At Washington State in 2023, Arbuckle teamed with Incarnate Ward transfer quarterback Cam Ward, who had 3,735 yards and 25 touchdowns passing. The Cougars ranked fourth in the FBS with 336.8 yards passing per game.
While Wazzu didn’t post the same gaudy passing numbers in 2024, the Cougars still finished the regular season ranked 12th nationally in scoring 36.8 points per game. Quarterback John Mateer also paced the FBS in total touchdowns with 44, 15 of which came on the ground, and he still had four games with at least 300 yards passing.
Arbuckle should at least bring a spark to an Oklahoma team that finished 15th in the SEC in total offense (322.5 yards per game), 16th in passing (167.6 ypg) and 15th in scoring (24.3 points per game). The Sooners scored above 20 points in just three of their eight conference games.
