Oklahoma is expected to hire Washington State’s Ben Arbuckle as its next offensive coordinator.ESPN first reported on Monday that the Sooners are finalizing a three-year deal for the 29-year old from Canadian, Texas to take over the vacancy left following the firing of Seth Littrell on Oct. 20. Arbuckle will be head coach Brent Venables’ third offensive coordinator hire since taking over the job in 2021.Arbuckle didn’t begin his coaching career until 2018 in a quality control role at Houston Baptist. In 2021 he was brought on at Western Kentucky in a similar role.Arbuckle worked his way up to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach during the 2022 season before being hired to lead the Cougars’ offense.In his first season in Pullman, Arbuckle had Washington State’s offense ranked fourth nationally in passing offense. Last season the Cougars were ranked ninth nationally in scoring offense. The Sooners have averaged 21.2 points per game this and parted ways with Littrell after just seven games leading the offense. Joe Jon Finley stepped up into an interim offensive coordinator role for the remainder of the season with offensive analyst Kevin Johns taking on a bigger role.They ended up going 6-6 in their first season in the SEC.Here’s a look at what Oklahoma will be getting in offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle: Youth on staffThe hiring of the 29-year old sends a clear message that the Sooners are willing to make a big swing to change the direction of the offense. It may seem like a risky hire, but Venables hasn’t been afraid of trusting young innovative minds to help lead his team.Last offseason the Sooners fired defensive coordinator Ted Roof and replaced him with Zac Alley, a 30-year old from Jacksonville State that’s been tabbed as one of the top young minds on that side of the ball.Arbuckle has received similar praise for his quick rise up the ranks of college football. Arbuckle’s schemeOne name that hasn’t often been brought up when discussing Arbuckle’s offenses is former OU head coach Lincoln Riley. Bob Stoops hired Riley when he was just 31 coming out of a prolific stint leading Eastern Carolina.Arbuckle is from West Texas and runs a similar scheme to Riley.At previous stops, Arbuckle has run an air raid offense that tries to beat teams by spreading them out and stressing the middle of the defense with the power run game. Cam Ward ran the Cougars’
