Oklahoma's Ben Arbuckle brisket picture roasting Lincoln Riley?
Great weekend with family and friends. Happy Easter! pic.twitter.com/NYscdCzlXz — Ben Arbuckle (@arbuckle_ben) April 20, 2025
New Oklahoma Sooners offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle has no previous ties to the OU Football program, and yet he's already finding ways to get into the good graces of the fanbase.
Arbuckle was hired this winter to help re-ignite the OU offense after its poor showing in 2024. One of his first moves was to help bring starting quarterback John Mateer with him from Washington State. Together, the duo of Arbuckle and Mateer hold the fate of the Sooner offense in their hands in 2025.
While Arbuckle's arrival was already met with the applause of Sooner Nation, the fans have been hurt by new coordinator hires before. While the best way for Arbuckle to win their approval is to light up the scoreboard, the new OC took time on Easter Sunday to try to win over some of the more astute Oklahoma fans.
Arbuckle posted a simple Happy Easter message to his X profile on Sunday, complete with a picture of a brisket he made for the occasion.
That seems like a non-starter, but some OU fans will remember that the last offensive play-caller the Sooners plucked from the Air Raid tree out of West Texas also posted his own Easter brisket once upon a time. That brisket, cooked by former OU head coach Lincoln Riley, was mocked on social media for being far too dry.
As you can see, Arbuckle's version of a classic Oklahoma meal has much better color and moisture. Some might say that Riley's ill-fated brisket was the beginning of the end of his time in Norman. Less than a year later, Riley bolted, leaving on bad terms with OU fans, to become the head man at USC. The brisket controversy was of course brought up again by observant Sooner fans.
Riley and Arbuckle have plenty of similarities, as both come from the Hal Mumme-Mike Leach coaching tree, run the Air Raid offense, and grew up in West Texas. Riley is from Muleshoe, while Arbuckle hails from Canadian. The two towns are about 200 miles apart on either side of Amarillo, in the panhandle of Texas.
Riley's sudden exit notwithstanding, he was an extremely good hire as an offensive coordinator by head coach Bob Stoops when he initially made his way from East Carolina to Oklahoma. The Sooners and head coach Brent Venables are hoping that lightning strikes twice with a very similar hire in Arbuckle, who already has the edge when it comes to smoked meats.
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Aaron on X @Aaron_Gelvin.
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