Sources: Oklahoma hires Arbuckle, 29, as new OC

Oklahoma has hired Washington State’s Ben Arbuckle as the school’s new offensive coordinator and playcaller, the school announced on Monday.

The deal is for three years, sources told ESPN.

The move comes in the wake of Oklahoma struggling significantly on offense in its initial season in the SEC, as they finished No. 15 of 16 teams in both scoring offense and total offense. He replaces Seth Littrell, who was fired in late October as Oklahoma was on its way to a 2-6 season in the SEC and a 6-6 overall finish.

In the 29-year-old Arbuckle, Oklahoma lands one of the country’s top young coordinators and playcallers. Washington State finished No. 12 nationally in scoring offense this year, No. 9 in passing efficiency and No. 22 in total offense. Washington State had great success with quarterback John Mateer, as he threw for 3,139 yards and 29 touchdowns. Mateer is a sophomore from Little Elm, Texas, who would have high-profile options if he were to enter the NCAA transfer portal.

Last season under Arbuckle, Cam Ward threw for 3,735 yards and 29 touchdowns.

In Arbuckle, Oklahoma gets a precocious offensive playcaller who previously served as the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Western Kentucky. In 2022, WKU quarterback Austin Reed led the national in passing yards with 4,746.

In a statement released by Oklahoma, Arbuckle says his preferred style of offense can vary.

“I’ve always played to the strength of my personnel. The personnel drives the scheme,” he said. “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.”

The hire is a key one for Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables moving forward in the SEC, as he’s 22-16 overall through three seasons. Venables, a defensive coach by trade, promoted internally to move Littrell to offensive coordinator this year.