Football coordinators have two choices when it comes to coaching their units on gameday. They can sit upstairs in the box and get a bird’s-eye view or they can be down on the field, close to the action. First-year Oklahoma offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle is choosing the latter.
Arbuckle, set to begin his first season running the Sooners’ offense after moving over from Washington State, will coach from the sideline this season, he said. He prefers the personal connection.
“I think the immediate communication and interaction I can have with the guys,” he said.
Arbuckle and Mateer, who joined his OC from Washington State in the offseason, led the Cougars to the 17th-ranked total offense in FBS last year. Mateer led college football’s highest tier in total touchdowns after throwing for 29 touchdowns and running for another 15 scores.
Oklahoma needs all the help on that side of the ball it can get. The Sooners ranked 113th out of 134 FBS teams in total offense last year. The addition of Arbuckle, Mateer, and California-Berkeley transfer Jaydn Ott at running back should ensure OU doesn’t finish that low again. Throw in a revamped offensive line and a batch of new targets for the new quarterback to throw to, and the Sooners’ offense appears potentially dangerous, even on paper.
“You get a sense of your players when you’re down there,” Arbuckle said. “I like being able to look John (Mateer) in the eyes and talk to him.”
Arbuckle, who spent the last two seasons running Washington State’s offense and one year doing the same at Western Kentucky, previously called plays for those teams on the sideline, as well.
