From Bailey Zappe to Austin Reed to Cam Ward to John Mateer, Arbuckle’s quarterbacks have always put up huge numbers — and always showed marked improvement.
NORMAN — So who’s next for Ben Arbuckle?
Will it be Oklahoma freshman Michael Hawkins whose career hits the college football stratosphere? Or will the Sooners land a transfer — Washington State’s John Mateer, perhaps — who takes his game to the next level under Arbuckle’s coaching?
Whoever it is, it’s almost certain they’re going to do something in 2025 the Sooner QBs didn’t this year: put up huge numbers.
“He’s had four really good ones where he’s been the full-time coach,” OU coach Brent Venables said of his new offensive coordinator and QB coach, “and they all had elite-level success. Breaking national records.”
Arbuckle is just 29 years old. He’s coached QBs full time for just three seasons.
And yet, the players who tutored under him or worked with him have all achieved remarkable prosperity as college quarterbacks.
- In 2019, Arbuckle was an offensive quality control assistant who worked with Houston Baptist quarterbacks. Bailey Zappe’s completion percentage increased from .578 to .638, his yards went from 2,822 to 3,811, his touchdowns went from 23 to 35, and his efficiency rating went from 123.6 to 136.2.
- In 2021, Arbuckle was offensive QC at Western Kentucky, again working with quarterbacks, as Zappe transferred in and set NCAA single-season records with 5,967 passing yards and 62 touchdowns. Zappe also completed 69.3 percent of his passes and threw just 11 interceptions.
- In 2022, Arbuckle was promoted to QB coach and offensive coordinator at WKU. His QB was Austin Reed, who finished the season ranked second in the nation in passing (339.0 yards per game) and fourth in total offense (355.0). Reed was a Division II national champion at West Florida, where he completed 54.2 percent his passes. At WKU, his completion percentage jumped to .646 and his yards jumped from 3,375 to 4,744. (It’s also noteworthy that in 2023, after Arbuckle left, Reed’s completion percentage dropped to .615 and his yards fell to 3,324.)
- In 2023, Arbuckle went to Washington State. The Cougars’ returning starter, Cam Ward, saw his numbers increase in his one year under Arbuckle: completion percentage from .644 to .666, yards from 3,232 to 3,736, rating from 130.7 to 145.4. His interceptions dropped from 9 to 7 as well. Ward, now at Miami, ranked fourth in the nation in at WSU in passing yards per game (311.3), sixth in total offense (323.3) and 14th in total touchdowns (33).
- This year at WSU, Arbuckle coached Mateer, a first-year starter who leads the nation with 268 total points accounted for and 44 total touchdowns. Mateer ranks 18th in passing yards (261.9 per game), 72nd in rushing yards (68.8 per game) and fifth in total offense (330.4 yards per game).
“It tells you a lot,” said Jett Niu, the 2025 OU quarterback signee who flipped from Oklahoma State after Arbuckle got the OU job and offered him a scholarship the next day. “I mean, especially, you look at Cam Ward. He wasn’t really a big name and now, I mean, he’s one of the Heisman finalists. He worked under Coach Arbuckle, and they got him kind of just out there and he developed him really well and he’s doing well at Miami right now.
“And John Mateer, another name that probably hadn’t been said a lot, but now that he’s thrown for, I think, almost 4,000 yards, 44 touchdowns — I mean, that’s just outstanding.”
