Brent Venables On The Process Of Hiring Ben Arbuckle As OC

Brent Venables met with the media on Wednesday to discuss the 2025 Sooners recruiting class.

Of the 18 scholarship signees, 14 are ranked as four- or five-star prospects on a five-star scale by recruiting sites 247Sports, ESPN, On3 or Rivals, while four others received three-star ratings, and two are preferred walk-ons.

Related: Venables Names Ben Arbuckle As New Offensive Coordinator | Sooners Hire Washington State's Ben Arbuckle As Offensive Coordinator

The conversation ultimately turned to the hiring of Ben Arbuckle as the new offensive coordinator at Oklahoma. This was the first time Venables has had a chance to answer questions about the hire.

Who Is Ben Arbuckle?

1. Arbuckle, who will call offensive plays, joins the OU staff after serving the last two seasons in the same capacity at Washington State University.
2. He has presided over a 2024 Cougars offense that ranks 12th nationally with its 36.8 points per game.
3. Combined over Arbuckle’s two seasons at Washington State, the Cougars rank 10th nationally in passing yards per game (302.7) and in passing touchdowns (57), 12th in touchdown/interception ratio (3.56), 13th in passing efficiency rating (154.5), 20th in scoring offense (34.2 ppg) and 22nd in touchdowns from scrimmage (101). 

What did Venables Say?

The head coach talked about the process of hiring Arbuckle which he says started months ago.

“Certainly you look at a lot of things,” according to Venables. “You take recommendations. You talk with people they work with. I love watching the tape, because that, to me, is the ultimate resume. You get a feel for things.”

"I study offenses more than I studied defenses over the past three decades and I have an appreciation for style, presentations, sequences, answers, game plans, personnel and utilizing the personnel, those types of things. And a lot of little things that people don’t see, maybe, some checks maybe people have built into their systems, things of that nature."