PULLMAN, Wash. — There's a new man calling plays on offense for Washington State football in the 2023 season and it's first year offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle.
"The first thing I could think of was, you know, the scene with Ricky Bobby and the Cougar in the car. I was like, 'I'm just gonna make that my Twitter header. Why not?," said Arbuckle. " At least they know I'm a funny guy."
Arbuckle endeared himself to Coug fans the day he was hired using a well-executed Talladega Nights reference on his Twitter account.
However, Arbuckle's offense is anything but funny to his opposition. Last season as the play caller at Western Kentucky his Hilltoppers ranked sixth in the country in total offense and second in passing, which has Coug fans coining the new offense as "Airbuckle."
"Yeah, I mean anyone can coin it whatever they want, I guess. I have zero copyrights to anything," said Arbuckle.
Passing is something Arbuckle knows firsthand. He played quarterback at the DII level at West Texas A&M.
"I tell people all the time I wasn't a great quarterback. But I had a lot of fun and got to continue playing the game that I loved," said Arbuckle.
If Arbuckle's place wasn't under center for the long term. It certainly has been on a headset.
He's had a meteoric rise as a coach. With his hiring in Pullman, Arbuckle became the youngest coordinator in a power five conference at the age of 27.
"Is it kind of unheard of or not common? Yeah, sure. But I always look at it like I always had bosses, always had good bosses, that took a chance on me," said Arbuckle. "The last thing I ever wanted to do was let them down. If they were going to give me an opportunity. I wanted to do everything that I could to make them right."
The newest boss to take a chance on Arbuckle is WSU head coach Jake Dickert.
"As I continued to watch his film, I just saw each week from a defensive perspective, the challenges that he posed on every defense and it was never the same. Sometimes I was like 'holy smokes!' just thinking of all the rules and principles," said Dickert. "The more I studied him, I was like 'this really fits."
Rather than seeing himself as young for the position, Arbuckle sees himself as relatable.
"You know, some people on the outside looking in could say, 'aww man, that's a disadvantage his age,' I choose to look at it as an advantage," said Arbuckle. "Being able to have all of that kind of experience as a player not that far ago and still fresh on my mind, I believe that makes me very relatable and personable to the players in order to get the most out of them."
When it comes to what WSU fans can expect to see on game day. Arbuckle says he's big on taking what the defense gives him and a simple goal.
"What my offense, I really hope is for everyone, is an offense that at the end of the day gives us the opportunity to score one more point than the other team, the ability to do that in an exciting fashion that the fans would love to see, and with the ability to make sure that the players that are playing for Washington State are having a blast while they're doing it," said Arbuckle.
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