New Oklahoma offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle joining list of prestigious coaches
The Oklahoma Sooners and Brent Venables hired Ben Arbuckle for plenty of reasons. One of those was his rising status as a young superstar offensive mind, who almost assuredly would have been snatched up by another blue-blood program if the Sooners hadn't gotten involved first. Now, there's another feather in the cap in Arbuckle's favor. […]
The Oklahoma Sooners and Brent Venables hired Ben Arbuckle for plenty of reasons. One of those was his rising status as a young superstar offensive mind, who almost assuredly would have been snatched up by another blue-blood program if the Sooners hadn't gotten involved first.
Now, there's another feather in the cap in Arbuckle's favor. On Monday, Arbuckle was named to the AFCA 35 Under 35 list.
Here is what the AFCA defines this list as:
"The AFCA 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute is a prestigious program aimed at identifying and developing premier, future leaders in the football coaching profession. Selected participants are invited to attend the one-day institute that features a curriculum of interactive lectures focused on topics specifically tailored to emphasize leadership in the coaching profession, ethics, influential responsibilities, career progression, and family balance."
The 35 Under 35 has featured some of the best coaches in college football over the last several years. Some recent notable names include:
- Mack Leftwich, Texas Tech offensive coordinator
- Bryant Haines, Indiana defensive coordinator
- Zach Kittley, Florida Atlantic head coach
- Jerrod Johnson, Houston Texas quarterbacks coach
- Will Stein, Oregon offensive coordinator
- GJ Kinne, Texas State head coach
- Tre Lamb, Tulsa head coach
- Garrett Riley, Clemson offensive coordinator
- Joe Sloan, LSU offensive coordinator
- Brian Hartline, Ohio State wide receivers coach
Arbuckle's joining a pretty prestigious list of successful coaches, and it's for good reason. Just six years ago, he was in the oil and gas industry, and now he's the offensive coordinator of a blue-blood SEC program.
Why did Brent Venables hire Ben Arbuckle as Oklahoma Sooners’ next offensive coordinator?
As the search for the Oklahoma Sooners offensive coordinator progressed, Ben Arbuckle's name was a prominent fixture in their search. I've written about Arbuckle before, but it's been a remarkable journey for him as a coach. Just six years after working in oil and gas, he's now an offensive coordinator for a premier blue-blood SEC […]
This past season, Arbuckle guided the Washington State Cougars offense to the 22nd-ranked total offense, 11th-ranked scoring offense, and 17th-ranked EPA/Play offense.
Now, he's in charge of orchestrating an about-face for the Sooners' offense in 2025. Oklahoma had their worst offense of the decade this past season and have already begun the process of weeding out their roster to begin fixing the team.
If Arbuckle can enjoy similar success as the rest of those names on that list, then it's a safe assumption Oklahoma's offense will quickly leap back to the upper echelons of college football where it belongs.
