Ben Arbuckle
{{Short description|American football player and coach (born 1995)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox college coach
| name = Ben Arbuckle
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| current_title = Offensive coordinator & quarterbacks coach
| current_team = Oklahoma
| current_conference = SEC
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1995|9|15|mf=y}}
| birth_place = Wichita Falls, Texas, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| player_years1 = 2016–2017
| player_team1 = West Texas A&M
| player_positions = Quarterback
| coach_years1 = 2018–2019
| coach_team1 = Houston Baptist (QC)
| coach_years2 = 2020
| coach_team2 = Seminole HS (TX) (OC/QB)
| coach_years3 = 2021
| coach_team3 = Western Kentucky (OQC)
| coach_years4 = 2022
| coach_team4 = Western Kentucky (co-OC/QB)
| coach_years5 = 2023–2024
| coach_team5 = Washington State (OC/QB)
| coach_years6 = 2025–present
| coach_team6 = Oklahoma (OC/QB)
| overall_record =
| bowl_record =
| tournament_record =
| championships =
| awards =
}}
Ben Arbuckle (born September 15, 1995) is an American college football coach and former player who is the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Oklahoma. He previously served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Washington State University from 2023 to 2024.
Playing career
Arbuckle grew up in Canadian, Texas and attended Canadian High School.{{cite web|url=https://www.canadianrecord.com/sports/kid-can-coach|title=The kid can coach|work=The Canadian Record|date=January 6, 2022|access-date=November 28, 2022}} He became Canadian's starting quarterback going into his junior season.{{cite web|url=https://www.amarillo.com/story/sports/high-school/2013/12/05/canadian-qb-shines-spotlight/13291230007/|title=Canadian QB shines in spotlight|work=Amarillo Globe-News|date=December 5, 2013|access-date=November 28, 2022}} Arbuckle passed for over 7,500 yards and with 95 touchdown passes during his high school career.
Arbuckle originally intended to play college football at UTSA, but decided to step away from the game.{{cite web|url=https://www.amarillo.com/story/sports/high-school/2014/07/22/area-stars-get-chance-display-talents/13265749007/|title=Area stars get chance to display talents|work=Amarillo Globe-News|date=July 22, 2014|access-date=November 28, 2022}} He later enrolled at West Texas A&M University and joined the West Texas A&M Buffaloes football team after a two year hiatus from the sport.{{cite web|url=https://www.timesrecordnews.com/columnists/j-scott-russell/russell-will-brotherly-love-take-a-backseat-in-rivalry-3bdbcaf3-27d6-08aa-e053-0100007f556f-397519131.html|title=Russell: Will brotherly love take a backseat in rivalry?|work=Times Record News|date=October 18, 2016|access-date=November 28, 2022}} Arbuckle started seven games as a junior and passed for 1,241 yards and 15 touchdowns.{{cite web|url=https://www.amarillo.com/story/sports/college/2017/03/25/buffs-open-spring-football-under-first-year-coach-hunter-hughes/13057540007/|title=Buffs open spring football under first-year coach Hunter Hughes|work=Amarillo Globe-News|date=March 25, 2017|access-date=November 28, 2022}} He competed for the Buffaloes' starting quarterback job going into his senior season, but was not named the starter.{{cite web|url=https://abc7amarillo.com/sports/content/wtamu-names-starting-quarterback-prior-to-final-scrimmage|title=WTAMU names starting quarterback prior to final scrimmage|first=Amanda|last=Atwell|website=ABC7Amarillo.com|date=August 25, 2017|access-date=November 29, 2022}}
Coaching career
=Early career=
Arbuckle began his coaching career as an offensive quality control assistant at Houston Baptist University. He spent two years at that position. Arbuckle worked with Zach Kittley to coach Bailey Zappe and the rest of the Houston Baptist offense. Arbuckle was hired as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Seminole High School in Seminole, Texas, in the summer of 2020.{{cite web|url=https://www.bgdailynews.com/sports/wku/arbuckle-looking-forward-to-giving-tops-fans-a-lot-of-what-they-saw-this-year/article_6b162680-329b-5ed4-a4aa-b43b44a53c49.html|title=Arbuckle 'looking forward to giving Tops' fans a lot of what they saw this year'|work=Bowling Green Daily News|date=December 20, 2021|access-date=November 28, 2022}}
=Western Kentucky=
In 2021, Arbuckle was hired as a quality control coach at Western Kentucky University (WKU) by former Houston Baptist offensive coordinator Zach Kittley. Arbuckle was promoted to quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator after Kittley left at the end of the 2021 to become the offensive coordinator at Texas Tech.{{cite web|url=https://www.bgdailynews.com/sports/wku/helton-announces-staff-changes-for-2022-season/article_a6a32d66-8f21-52b6-84e4-860b72e35914.html|title=Helton announces staff changes for 2022 season|work=Bowling Green Daily News|date=December 9, 2021|access-date=November 28, 2022}} Western Kentucky's offense finished sixth nationally in yards per game, first in total passing yards, and 15th in points per game with Arbuckle as the primary play caller in 2022.{{Cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/stats/team/_/sort/totalPointsPerGame|title=2022 College Football Team Total Offense Stats|website=ESPN}}
=Washington State=
In January 2023, Arbuckle was hired as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Washington State University.{{cite web|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/wsu-cougar-football/wsu-cougars-announce-hiring-of-offensive-coordinator-ben-arbuckle/|title=WSU Cougars announce hiring of offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle|work=The Seattle Times|date=January 6, 2023|access-date=January 10, 2023}} At 27, he was the youngest Power 5 primary coordinator in the country at the time of the hire.{{cite news |first=Adam |last=Rittenberg |title=Washington State set to hire Ben Arbuckle as OC, source says |url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/35331422/washington-state-set-hire-ben-arbuckle-oc-source-says |date=December 27, 2022 |accessdate=January 5, 2023}}
=Oklahoma=
On December 2, 2024, Arbuckle was named as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Oklahoma under head coach Brent Venables.{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/42743274/sources-oklahoma-hires-ben-arbuckle-offensive-coordinator|title=Sources: Oklahoma hires Ben Arbuckle as offensive coordinator|work=ESPN|date=December 2, 2024|access-date=December 2, 2024}}
Personal life
Arbuckle and his wife, Lauren, have a son together.
He graduated from West Texas A&M University in 2018 with a dual degree in finance and economics.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://soonersports.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/ben-arbuckle/1147 Oklahoma Sooners profile]
- [https://gobuffsgo.com/sports/football/roster/ben--arbuckle/6898 West Texas A&M Buffaloes player profile]
- [https://wkusports.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/ben-arbuckle/732 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers profile]
{{Southeastern Conference offensive coordinators}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arbuckle, Ben}}
Category:American football quarterbacks
Category:High school football coaches in Florida
Category:Houston Christian Huskies football coaches
Category:Oklahoma Sooners football coaches
Category:People from Canadian, Texas
Category:Players of American football from Wichita Falls, Texas
Category:Washington State Cougars football coaches