College football analyst Josh Pate had high praise for Canadian product and former West Texas A&M quarterback Ben Arbuckle.
The college football season is still a few weeks away, but a former Texas Panhandle athlete is already garnering recognition from national media members.
Former Canadian High School and West Texas A&M quarterback Ben Arbuckle will begin his first season as the University of Oklahoma's offensive coordinator later this month. Even though Arbuckle hasn't coached a game with the Sooners yet, the 29-year-old has received high praise from OU's staff and others around the country.
One of the most recent examples was Josh Pate, a popular college football analyst partnered with On3 and Rivals who boasts more than 221,000 followers on X and 369,000 subscribers on YouTube.
"I don't have any question whatsoever about the guy calling plays for (Oklahoma)," Pate said on a recent podcast appearance. "I think Ben Arbuckle is going to be a star. I got more feedback from coaches when (OU) went and got him, than when they went and got (Washington State transfer quarterback John Mateer). That's how highly a lot of people think of Arbuckle in the coaching world."
Arbuckle was hired by Oklahoma in early December after two years in the same role at Washington State. Under Arbuckle's tutelage, the aforementioned Mateer tallied 3,139 yards and 29 touchdowns through the air to go along with 826 yards rushing and 15 scores on the ground in 2024.
Following Mateer's impressive redshirt sophomore campaign, Arbuckle was hired to be the Sooners' new offensive coordinator, and the standout quarterback followed his coach to Norman.
Prior to his time with the Cougars, Arbuckle was on staff at Western Kentucky, where he served multiple roles, including his first experience as a coordinator at the collegiate level. Arbuckle joined the Hilltoppers staff after working as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Seminole High School for one season.
Arbuckle's first coaching stop was at Houston Christian.
The Sooners' play caller begin his football career at Canadian High School, where he earned all-state honors as a quarterback his junior and senior seasons. In his final year as the Wildcats' starting quarterback, Arbuckle led Canadian to a 12-2 overall record and a state quarterfinals appearance.
The former Wildcats' star went on to have a solid career at West Texas A&M, spending two years as the Buffs' starting quarterback and notching a career performance against former Lone Star Conference foe Oklahoma Panhandle State on Oct. 15, 2016.
In a 42-14 win against OPSU, Arbuckle threw for 292 yards and tossed six touchdowns. The next week, Arbuckle helped lead WTAMU to a win over then-No. 4 Midwestern State with two touchdown passes and zero interceptions.
Now, the former quarterback turned coach will get his shot to call plays in the SEC as he and the Sooners look for a strong season in one of the NCAA's toughest conferences.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: CFB analyst Josh Pate lauds former Canadian, WTAMU QB Ben Arbuckle
Category: General Sports
