Washington State is set to hire Ben Arbuckle, the 27-year-old who spent this season at Western Kentucky, as its next offensive coordinator, a source told ESPN on Tuesday.
Arbuckle, a former quarterback at West Texas A&M, served as Western Kentucky’s co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Western Kentucky ranks No. 2 nationally in passing offense, as Austin Reed passed for 4,249 yards with 36 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. In 2021, Arbuckle worked as a quality control assistant, alongside offensive coordinator Zach Kittley and star quarterback Bailey Zappe. He also worked alongside Kittley at Houston Baptist in 2018 and 2019.
Arbuckle will become the youngest primary coordinator in the Power 5. He will replace Eric Morris, who left earlier this month to become head coach at North Texas.
On3 first reported Arbuckle as the target for Washington State’s coordinator hire.
Washington State ranks 80th nationally this season in scoring and 44th in passing. The Cougars finished 7-6 this season under coach Jake Dickert.