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Oklahoma is reportedly hiring Washington State offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle as its new offensive coordinator.

Arbuckle has served as Washington State’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the past two seasons. He was in the same role in 2022 with Western Kentucky, where he coached the 15th best scoring offense in the country.

"Ben is an extremely passionate and innovative coach who does a great job of finding ways to maximize his personnel," head coach Brent Venables said in OU's press release. "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 took over for Washington State one year after they finished 79th in scoring nationally. He helped them improve to 38th in 2023 and 12th in 2024. 

Washington State redshirt sophomore quarterback John Mateer finished the 2024 season with 3,139 passing yards, 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions. 

OU sophomore quarterback Jackson Arnold has not declared whether he’ll return to the Sooners next season.

"Right off the bat, my first conversation with Coach Venables got me really excited," Arbuckle said in the release. "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."

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