New Oklahoma Sooners offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Ben Arbuckle has wasted no time rebuilding his QB room in his first few months on the job.
Arbuckle, who also serves as OU’s offensive play-caller, has already recruited three newcomers to his position group and has reportedly secured a fourth this week.
According to a report from OUInsider’s Parker Thune, who covers the Sooners for Rivals, Oklahoma has landed a transfer portal commitment from former Virginia quarterback Gavin Frakes. This move gives OU five quarterbacks on the roster and brings their total number of players to 108, three above the expected limit of 105.
Frakes spent the 2024 season with the Cavaliers but did not get on the field for Tony Elliot’s team. He was a member of the 2022 recruiting class for New Mexico State, and played in 11 games as a true freshman for the Aggies. Frakes threw for 736 yards and four touchdowns and ran for 143 yards and two scores in 2022, before redshirting in 2023. He’s one of four QBs on OU’s roster with starting experience at the college level.
Frakes is coming back home, as the 6-4, 232-pound passer is a Norman native. He arrives at OU with two years of eligibility remaining.
Frakes joins OU’s QB room of John Mateer, Michael Hawkins Jr., Whitt Newbauer and Jett Niu. Frakes will look to add depth to the position and compete for reps behind Mateer and Hawkins. It’s a nearly brand-new position group from what was there a year ago, which is a good thing for Sooner fans.
The Sooners are also looking towards the future with their 2026 decision at QB between Jaden O’Neal and Bowe Bentley looming. Additionally, OU is pursuing Peyton Houston out of Louisiana in the 2027 recruiting class.
To Arbuckle’s credit, he’s revamped the room in mere months, doing so with only one returning player. He’ll have his work cut out for him as a solo OC in the SEC, but he’ll have the benefit of his relationship with Mateer from their days together at Washington State to make things run more smoothly. Arbuckle brought trusted QB assistant coaches John Kuceyeski and Colt Garrett with him from Pullman, and he’ll also have the aid of former Tulsa head coach and current offensive analyst Kevin Wilson.
Wilson was also the head coach at Indiana and was a longtime offensive coordinator at Oklahoma (2002-2010) and Ohio State (2017-2022). He’s an excellent play-caller who has been coaching since the 1980s and was the architect of Oklahoma’s explosive 2008 offense. His presence will be a help not only to Arbuckle but to head coach Brent Venables, offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh, and tight ends coach Joe Jon Finley. Wilson has served in each of those roles over the course of his career
Arbuckle now has the Oklahoma quarterbacks geared up for the fall. The QB depth chart now has everything it needs: A starter, a backup, and plenty of depth. Adding Frakes, a player with some starting experience under his belt, is just one more display that the Sooners are in much better hands on offense than they were a year ago.
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