‘He’s Special’: Ben Arbuckle’s Journey to Becoming Oklahoma’s Offensive Coordinator

When Ben Arbuckle stepped foot on campus at Canadian High School in 2010, coach Chris Koetting felt like he had a crystal ball.

A freshman quarterback at the time, Arbuckle made an immediate impression on Koetting, who mentally made a bold prediction.

“I knew he was going to do big things in football,” Koetting said.

Fast forward more than a decade, and some might think Koetting is a fortune teller.

Arbuckle, only 29, has already become a successful coach at the collegiate level. He accepted the offensive coordinator job at Oklahoma in December, following stints at Washington State and Western Kentucky.

Now he’s tasked with breathing new life into an Oklahoma offense that was among the worst in college football in 2024. Those who know him are confident he’ll succeed.

Canadian, TX, located on the far-right end of the Texas Panhandle, has a population of just 2,339 — so just about everybody knows everybody else.

Arbuckle’s high school career made him an even more recognizable name in the small town.

In his final two seasons of high school, Arbuckle passed for 7,500 yards and 95 touchdowns. He led the Wildcats to the UIL 2A state quarterfinals as a senior.

While most of Arbuckle’s high school highlights are passing-related, it’s where he first dove into instructing others.

Canadian’s backup for Arbuckle’s final two seasons was Tanner Schafer, who later played at OU. After waiting behind Arbuckle and learning from him, Schafer led Canadian to back-to-back titles in 2014 and 2015.

“(Ben) has helped a lot of quarterbacks along the way, not just as a coach,” Koetting said. “He’s special.”

After high school, Arbuckle took two seasons off from playing football before joining West Texas A&M’s program in 2016. Located in Canyon, just outside of Amarillo, Arbuckle continued to learn more about the game on a small scale.

He spent half of the 2016 season as the Buffaloes’ starter, completing 63 percent of his passes for 1,241 yards and 15 touchdowns. Arbuckle didn’t start in 2017, but he was WTAM’s top backup, appearing in 10 games.

While Arbuckle didn’t break records at West Texas A&M, his time there showed others his work ethic, killer instinct and love for the game — traits that have allowed him to succeed as a college coach.

“I definitely learned about Ben’s competitiveness from my time playing,” said Allen Roberson, who played with Arbuckle at WTAM as a defensive end. “It was always fun competing each day against the offense in practice. As a QB, it’s always important to learn and process quickly. Ben always showed that, along with his enthusiasm and fun spirit every day.”

Arbuckle’s love for the game really shined through at his first collegiate coaching stop.

Immediately after graduating from West Texas A&M, Arbuckle joined the staff at Houston Baptist (now Houston Christian), which competes at the NCAA Division I FCS level.

Arbuckle was an unpaid quality control assistant for the Huskies — and it got his foot in the door to where he wanted to be.

Koetting guided Arbuckle as he entered the college coaching realm. And it didn’t surprise Arbuckle’s high school coach that he’d be willing to coach for free — or take a second job as a food delivery driver to make ends meet.

“His trail to get to where he’s at right now is kind of crazy,” Koetting said. “His work ethic is something else.”

After that, Arbuckle returned to the Texas Panhandle for one year, serving as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Seminole High School.

Arbuckle then landed his first paid college coaching job at Western Kentucky, where he started as an offensive quality control assistant. He was then promoted to co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Hilltoppers in 2022, helping lead the nation’s No. 1 passing offense (433.7 passing yards per game) with eventual NFL quarterback Bailey Zappe. 

That instant success helped Arbuckle land the same job at Washington State.

The body of work is just three years for Arbuckle-led college football offenses, but he hasn’t missed yet. After heading a successful air-raid system at WKU, he was just as successful in Pullman.

In 2023, Arbuckle worked with Cam Ward — who later transferred to Miami (FL) and was a 2024 Heisman finalist — and produced a passing offense that was fourth nationally with 336.8 yards per game.

A year later, Arbuckle ran an offense with John Mateer, who recently transferred to Oklahoma. The Cougars finished 2024 with 30 passing touchdowns, which was sixth in the nation.

“One of the best offensive minds in the last several decades in college football,” Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said in December. “He has his own report — everything that I continue to look at.”

Now, Arbuckle heads to his biggest program yet — and it’s a full-circle journey for him.

Canadian is just over three hours away from Norman, and his wife, Lauren, grew up a die-hard OU fan. On their first date, Arbuckle took Lauren to an Oklahoma game.

Game day for those two will look quite different when Arbuckle takes the reins in the fall. But it’s a return to the place that sparked their love for one another and Arbuckle’s love for OU.

“Here we are 12 years later, and we’re very proud to be here,” Arbuckle said on the National Signing Day show on Sooner Sports TV in December. “We’re ready to get this thing rolling.”

In addition to Arbuckle’s short-but-impressive resume and his family ties, his leadership is what those closest to him think will stand out.

Rosemary Koetting, Chris’ wife, described Arbuckle as a “player’s coach” who is kind, intelligent and competitive.

“He makes everybody feel important,” Rosemary Koetting said. “Kids flock to him.”

Jett Niu, a 3-star quarterback prospect who signed with OU in December after Arbuckle’s hiring, had similar first impressions.

Arbuckle recruited Niu to Washington State early in his recruiting process, but the quarterback prospect ultimately chose to commit to Oklahoma State. But the two kept in touch even after Niu’s OSU commitment, and once Arbuckle landed in Norman, it was a no-brainer for him to flip.

“I love the way that he coaches and talks to his players,” Niu said. “He really just develops them.”

At 29 years old, Arbuckle is just over a decade older than Niu. His new coordinator’s youth — plus his proven track record with Zappe, Ward and Mateer — excites the Sooners’ incoming signal caller.

“He’s developed multiple quarterbacks that have been successful in college football, and I think I can be one of them,” Niu said. “We’re going to have a great next couple of years.”

Arbuckle’s time in Norman could span more than a decade. It could last only a year. Regardless, Koetting thinks Arbuckle is the right man for the job.

But wherever Arbuckle’s coaching career takes him, Koetting will always see him as the small-town quarterback that he predicted to one day be a star.

“I have coached a lot of great quarterbacks, and he’s been my favorite,” Koetting said. “He’s one of ours. He’s special, and I can tell you that.”