{"id":3311,"date":"2025-09-19T23:47:32","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T23:47:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/?p=3311"},"modified":"2025-09-19T23:47:33","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T23:47:33","slug":"why-ou-footballs-ben-arbuckle-could-become-a-head-coach-next-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/?p=3311","title":{"rendered":"Why OU football’s Ben Arbuckle could become a head coach next season"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Less than a decade ago, ambitions ran wild in a cramped quarterback meeting room at Houston Baptist University.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There, 22-year-old unpaid volunteer Ben Arbuckle<\/a>, offensive coordinator Zach Kittley and quarterback Bailey Zappe balanced football, film and dreams of the future.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They often chatted about career goals, desires, passions and everything in between. At the time, Arbuckle was driving for Uber Eats, a food delivery app, and only hoped to become a salaried, full-time college coach one day.<\/p>\n

The trio grew close across three seasons together, moving from Houston Baptist to Western Kentucky.<\/p>\n

Now, Arbuckle calls plays at Oklahoma<\/a>, Kittley is the youngest FBS head coach at Florida Atlantic and Zappe is a backup quarterback for the Cleveland Browns.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe always had our dreams,\u201d Zappe told The Oklahoman<\/em>. \u201cKittley wanted to be a head coach. Obviously, that’s Arbuckle\u2019s dream.\u201d<\/p>\n

Due to his work developing Zappe, Austin Reed, Tennessee Titans No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward and current Sooners star John Mateer<\/a>, Arbuckle is one of the most respected quarterback whisperers and hottest up-and-coming coordinators in the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After arriving from Washington State, he\u2019s converted an OU offense that ranked 124th in yards per play last season into one that ranks 28th in yards per game through three games, with Mateer as one of the frontrunners<\/a> to win the Heisman Trophy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Arbuckle, who turned 30 on Monday, has already come up as a potential head coaching candidate for next season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Athletic reported last week<\/a> that \u201csome\u201d with the Sooners<\/a> worry Arbuckle could be targeted to replace Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy should a change be made. Following UCLA\u2019s firing of DeShaun Foster on Sunday, On3 listed Arbuckle<\/a> as a potential candidate for the Bruins\u2019 head coaching job.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe would find success in anything he does,\u201d said former Cougars defensive coordinator Jeff Schmedding, who worked alongside Arbuckle at WSU for two seasons.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf that is in his future, which it certainly could be, he would find the right people to put around him. Obviously, it’s early in the year, but if he stays on this trend and I certainly don\u2019t see any reason why he won’t, that would be in his future for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

MUSSATTO: <\/strong>Jaydn Ott is OU football’s fourth-team running back until proven otherwise<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Ben Arbuckle ‘coaches every snap\u2019<\/h2>\n

Arbuckle, a former quarterback at West Texas A&M, is no stranger to transforming offenses.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At Western Kentucky with Kittley and Zappe in 2021, the Hilltoppers<\/a> led the country in passing. Combined over Arbuckle’s two seasons at Washington State \u2014 his first experience as a lead playcaller in college \u2014 the Cougars ranked 10th nationally in passing yards per game.<\/p>\n

His impact in Norman has been immediate. The Sooners<\/a> never threw for at least 270 yards against an FBS team in the regular season last season, but have done it in each of their opening three games this season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFor Ben to be so young \u2014 [and] to be an offensive coordinator in the SEC \u2014 is tremendous,\u201d Zappe said. \u201cIt just shows how great of a coach he is, and how great of a coach he’s going to continue to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the most significant differences between last season\u2019s OU offense and this year\u2019s is the energy Arbuckle brings to practices and sidelines during games.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He\u2019s constantly moving around to different position groups, shouting directions and sometimes goofing around with players during downtime.<\/p>\n

Sooners coach Brent Venables has seen the players reflect Arbuckle\u2019s leadership just like he hoped they would when he decided to hire him.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe loves to coach. He coaches every snap. I value that,\u201d Venables said. \u201cThat\u2019s why they call us ‘Coach,’ because we\u2019re not just there to observe, man, we need to be an active participant.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe gets that, he has a sense of urgency, a sense of desperation.\u201d<\/p>\n

TOPPMEYER: <\/strong>The case for OU football (not LSU or Georgia or Texas) being SEC’s best team<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

OU’s offensive coordinator is \u2018as good as there is\u2019<\/h2>\n

Jeff Schmedding knows Arbuckle\u2019s energy too well.<\/p>\n

Oftentimes, the lightning rod young coordinator would hop into Washington State\u2019s team breaks before practice. Or, sometimes Schmedding\u2019s glance would wander toward the offensive side of the practice field and find Arbuckle dancing with the quarterbacks.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe coaches the hell out of it, and then has fun doing it,\u201d Schmedding said. \u201cYou say Ben Arbuckle and it puts a smile on my face, man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sometimes practice could get less fun for Schmedding, however. Arbuckle\u2019s offense can be difficult to defend, even when you know what\u2019s coming. Schmedding watched the beginning of Arbuckle and Mateer\u2019s relationship and has watched them not miss a beat at OU from afar.<\/p>\n

Entering Saturday, the Sooners were the only SEC team and one of only three squads nationally with four players who each average at least 50 receiving yards per game. OU had also scored on all 13 of its red zone trips this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cDefending them, you better defend the whole field,\u201d Schmedding said of Arbuckle and Mateer. \u201cIf he knows what he’s got, it could be a long day for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Arbuckle reminds folks of former Sooners coach Lincoln Riley, who also hails from West Texas. If you watch Arbuckle\u2019s vibrancy on the OU sideline from afar or close your eyes and listen to his drawl during press conferences, you\u2019d be hard pressed to tell the difference between the two.<\/p>\n

As Sooners offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh went through his first training camp with Arbuckle, he couldn\u2019t help but think of Riley, his former boss.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s young Lincoln,\u201d Bedenbaugh said of Arbuckle. \u201cHe\u2019s smart, he understands everything. For a young guy, he\u2019s got great command.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been around a lot of good ones, man. He\u2019s as good as there is.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s perhaps no one who has been more impressed with the job Arbuckle has done in his short time at OU than Sooners general manager Jim Nagy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

More: <\/strong>OU football coach Brent Venables sees ‘same guy’ in Auburn QB Jackson Arnold<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Nagy praised Arbuckle\u2019s ability to keep it loose at practice, while being a serious coach and commanding the offense.<\/p>\n

\u201cBen’s a stud, man. I hope he’s in a position, at some point, to become a head coach, because I think he\u2019ll be a really good one,\u201d Nagy said. \u201cAnd if he does, that means we\u2019ve had a ton of success at OU, so I’m all for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The word about Arbuckle\u2019s success is only going to grow nationally. Of course, the season is young and the Sooners face a daunting conference schedule.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even if OU contends for the College Football Playoff and Arbuckle receives interest, who says he\u2019d want to leave for a struggling program?<\/p>\n

He could return to the Sooners for another season and wait it out for jobs at programs with better football resources.<\/p>\n

Arbuckle\u2019s rise through the assistant ranks has been nothing short of meteoric. If he were to leave OU for a head coaching job next season, he\u2019d take Kittley\u2019s title as the youngest FBS head coach.<\/p>\n

If the Sooners continue to thrive, Arbuckle\u2019s dream \u2014 dating back all those years at tiny FCS Houston Baptist \u2014 of one day leading a program could come true quicker than he imagined.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way that football is right now, it certainly could happen,\u201d Schmedding said. \u201cThere’s no doubt about it. It would be off his whole body of work. Certainly, the success he’s having right now would catapult that; there’s no question about it, but it’s been pretty consistent.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe’s a guy, how he is right now, who\u2019s going to be better a year from now. He’s always trying to learn and grow and that type of mindset breeds success.\u201d<\/p>\n

More: <\/strong>OU football stock report: TE Jaren Kanak ‘always open’ for QB John Mateer<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Colton Sulley\u00a0covers the Oklahoma Sooners for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Colton? He can be reached at\u00a0csulley@oklahoman.com\u00a0or on X\/Twitter at\u00a0@colton_sulley. Support Colton’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a\u00a0digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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Less than a decade ago, ambitions ran wild in a cramped quarterback meeting room at Houston Baptist University.\u00a0 There, 22-year-old unpaid volunteer Ben Arbuckle, offensive coordinator Zach Kittley and quarterback Bailey Zappe balanced football, film and dreams of the future.\u00a0 They often chatted about career goals, desires, passions and everything in between. At the time, … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3312,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Why-OU-footballs-Ben-Arbuckle-could-become-a-head-coach.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3311"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3311\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3313,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3311\/revisions\/3313"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}