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USA Today
11-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
What will Oklahoma's offense look like in 2025?
Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables had to make a bold hire this winter. Venables knew he'd be looking for a new offensive coordinator just seven games into the 2024 season. He also knew at the end of the regular season that his back was going to be against the wall in 2025. So, Venables took a chance on a young up-and-comer from Washington State to revamp OU's offense. Ben Arbuckle will call the offensive plays in Norman after the Sooners lured him away from Pullman. Oklahoma's new offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach has total command of that side of the ball, and a relatively blank slate to work with after last year's dumpster fire. Arbuckle will turn 30 in September, making Venables' hire a pretty risky one. But what will the OU offense actually look like once the Sooners take the field in late August? Oklahoma has typically been at the forefront of offensive innovation over the years. Whether it was the Split-T, the Wishbone, the Air Raid, or the Spread, the Sooners traditionally have been early adopters. From Mike Leach through Jeff Lebby's tenure, the Sooners have regularly had some of the best offenses in college football. Each of the modern spread offenses has plenty in common with each other, but it's easy to see the differences on the field between the Veer-and-Shoot and the Air Raid, or the differences between the more traditional Spread schemes and an offense that runs multiple schemes. Tempo is another big factor. After Lebby's two years in Norman, the Sooners were lost on offense in 2024, posting their worst numbers on that side of the ball since 1998, the year before Leach was hired as the offensive coordinator. That brings us back to Arbuckle, who has a heavy Air Raid background. He'll get the Sooners back to a system that has brought them plenty of success in years past. The Canadian, Texas native played quarterback in high school in the Texas Panhandle. He initially wanted to play collegiately for UTSA, but ended up taking a two-year hiatus from the sport. Arbuckle returned to play two seasons (2016-2017) at Division II West Texas A&M, starting a few games. He got into coaching after that and spent the 2018 and 2019 seasons at FCS Houston Baptist as an offensive quality control assistant. It was there that he met his biggest influence, Zach Kittley, who was the offensive coordinator for the Huskies. Kittley and Arbuckle coached quarterback Bailey Zappe together for those two seasons at HBU before Arbuckle returned to West Texas. He was Seminole High School's offensive coordinator for the 2020 season, before returning to the collegiate level in 2021. It was then that he reunited with both Kittley and Zappe at the FBS level at Western Kentucky. Arbuckle was a quality control coach for the Hilltoppers, as the offense put together an excellent year in Kittley's Air Raid scheme. Zappe moved on to the NFL and Kittley was hired as Texas Tech's OC after the season. Suddenly, Arbuckle was in the driver's seat in 2022, calling plays for the first time and serving as the co-OC for Western Kentucky. He and new starting QB Austin Reed had enough success that Arbuckle was hired as Washington State's offensive coordinator after the season. The Cougars wanted Arbuckle's Air Raid at WSU. In 2023 and 2024, Arbuckle called plays for the Wazzu, first with future No. 1 overall NFL draft pick Cam Ward under center, then with John Mateer at the controls last year. Arbuckle took the open job at OU after last season, brought Mateer with him, and now brings the Air Raid back to Norman. Kittley, now FAU's head coach, is clearly Arbuckle's biggest influence, and Arbuckle's system looks the most similar to what Kittley has done in his various stops along the way. But Kittley is a young coach as well, so the tree goes much further up for Arbuckle than just him. Kittley's coaching career began on Kliff Kingsbury's staff at Texas Tech from 2013 to 2017, before he landed the OC gig at HBU. For part of his time in Lubbock, Kittley worked with Patrick Mahomes as an assistant quarterbacks coach. Kingsbury (Washington Commanders' OC) is one of the Air Raid's most prevalent names, but that staff also included Sonny Cumbie, who worked closely with Kittley. Both Kingsbury and Cumbie (Louisiana Tech's head coach) played for Mike Leach, and Cumbie briefly coached under him. Both coaches are Air Raid disciples who had a big influence on Kittley. That Texas Tech staff in the mid-2010s also included Eric Morris (North Texas' head coach), another recognizable Air Raid figure. Kingsbury can trace his success back to coaches like Dana Holgerson, Kevin Sumlin (who is on a slightly different branch of the same connected tree), and, of course, Leach, who was one of the original pillars of the Air Raid along with Hal Mumme. That duo invented the offense in the 80s and 90s. As you can see, it's not that much of a stretch to say that Mike Leach, who brought the system to Norman 26 years ago, has influenced Ben Arbuckle's mentor and turned Oklahoma's new OC into the coach he is today. Arbuckle will have to learn the same lesson Riley did when he ran the Air Raid at OU. Running the football can't be an afterthought, as it often can be for Air Raid coaches. The sooner Arbuckle learns that lesson, the better, because it took Riley about half of his first season. But for OU fans wondering what their new offense will look like, it's something Sooner Nation has seen a couple of times before. Quick passes and deep vertical routes are the hallmarks of this system, with Arbuckle needing to bring some of the gap run schemes that made OU so fearsome in the late 2010s into the fold as well. The quarterback must be an accurate decision-maker who can also push the ball down the field. Great wideout play is paramount, and the offensive line has to be rock-solid. The Air Raid has more traditional WR splits than the Veer-and-Shoot. It's a scheme that will often feature four or five wide receivers. But, Arbuckle knows he has to mix things up and keep SEC defenses guessing. Simply throwing the ball on every down won't get the job done. While Mateer's presence will help, Arbuckle likely faces a learning curve in his first year on the job. However, we've seen the Air Raid work multiple times before at Oklahoma, and Arbuckle has three years of play-calling experience under his belt. While the job at OU is daunting, there's also more talent to work with than Arbuckle's ever had. One thing the Sooners won't lack is an identity. Arbuckle is an Air Raid guy through and through. He's running his own system that he's been calling for three years and was trained in by Kittley. None of those statements were true of Oklahoma offensively last year. After last season's offensive disaster, a coach with a distinct system, roots in a strong offensive coaching tree, recent play-calling experience, and a real plan for his offense is a welcome sight for Sooner fans who are ready to get the taste of 2024 out of their mouths as soon as possible. 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.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Meghan Markle planning expansion of her lifestyle and wellness line only weeks after taking ‘step back'
Meghan Markle's As Ever lifestyle brand is planning to expand. The Duchess of Sussex has adjusted beyond selling more than just jam and flower sprinkles. According to documents obtained by Page Six, Meghan will be adding 'hospitality services in the nature of provision of food and drink' and 'hospitality services in the nature of provision of temporary accommodation' to her business. These hospitality services would potentially include hotels and restaurants. The Independent has reached out to representatives of Meghan for comment. The news comes less than one week after the Duchess announced that As Ever will be restocking some of its highly sought-after products. She teased the return of her products on Tuesday, writing on her Instagram: ''June Gloom?' Not over here! Because this month your favorite products are back.' Meghan then issued a call-out to sign up to the brand's mailing list for fans to find out details and timing. Products, including $15 Flower Sprinkles, $14 Raspberry Spread in Keepsake Packaging, $28 Limited-Edition Wildflower Honey with Honeycomb, $12 Herbal Lemon Ginger Tea, $12 Herbal Hibiscus Tea, and $12 Herbal Peppermint Tea from the first As Ever launch in April, sold out in less than an hour. A date for the restock has not yet been revealed. The news came after the Duchess said in an interview with Fast Company that she was planning to 'assess' new avenues for her brand as she wants to take a 'step back, gather data from the launch, and figure out exactly what As Ever could be.' 'I want to really focus on the hospitality angle of As Ever, but as we take the learnings, we can understand what the customer's needs are seasonally,' Meghan told the publication. 'My heart is very deeply in my home. Everything comes from being rooted in the love story of your home and garden, and then you can imagine different verticals coming out of that.' Asked whether she might explore moving into clothing one day, Meghan responded: 'Fashion is a category I plan to explore down the line because I find it to be an intriguing space for me.' She further echoed her decision to 'pause' production for As Ever during an episode of her Confessions of a Female Founder podcast on Tuesday with her guest, Tina Knowles. As she and Knowles were discussing the amount of work and testing that went into their respective products, Meghan admitted she wasn't sure what to do after seeing all of her products sell out in 45 minutes. 'Then what do you do? You say, OK. We planned as best as we could,' she said. 'Are we going to replenish and sell out again in an hour, or is that annoying as a customer?'
First Post
05-06-2025
- General
- First Post
World Environment Day 2025: Turn kitchen trash into green gold with these 10 tips
Natural pest repellent Spread used coffee grounds around plants to deter ants and slugs. It's a chemical-free way to keep your garden healthy while making use of coffee waste.
San Francisco Chronicle
28-05-2025
- General
- San Francisco Chronicle
This Middle Eastern restaurant is a hidden gem in Wine Country
It's impossible to have drab food at Spread Kitchen. The dishes are vividly colorful with even brighter flavors. Look no further than the Lebanese restaurant's stunning mezzes. The hot pink whipped feta with beets is sour and silky; the baba ganoush thick and smoky; and the green tahini spiced and zesty. Each spread functions like a Lego: stackable building blocks of flavor, fostering a spirit of experimentation. The Sonoma restaurant, which quietly opened three years ago, is one of the best Middle Eastern restaurants in the Bay Area. I would also say it's the region's strongest Lebanese restaurant, but chef-owner Cristina Topham prefers to call it 'Lebanese-inspired.' Indeed, it's the restaurant's sense of individuality that shines over its strict adherence to tradition. Topham gleefully sidesteps those confines in favor of seasonal produce and unconventional flavor, inviting external spice profiles from Ethiopia and India. Lebanese cooking overlaps with several Levantine and Middle Eastern cuisines, but it's distinguished by a prolific use of lemons, according to Topham. The restaurant goes through gallons a week. This sunshine animates mezzes, marinades, salads and more. Spread's menu is modular. A lunch visit might include a wrap or grain bowl, while a full dinner shouldn't go without dips, loaded fries or grilled meats. Everything except the pita, sourced from a local Syrian baker, is made in-house. Topham is not shy about her worship of lemons. You'll find drops in smooth toum, which serves as the garlicky marinade for chicken, beef and ground lamb. The fried Brussels sprouts and fried cauliflower are drizzled with lemon-laced tahini; the latter is further electrified with briny preserved lemon. The pickled citrus is a trademark of the chef, making appearances in fondant-thick labneh and Pepto Bismol-tinted beet feta — the best of the dips. The dip platter ($14-$26) allows you to sample up to five alongside pita, pickles and fresh veggies, but you can save a few bucks on dips if you order side scoops ($4) instead. I recommend scooping spreads with thin za'atar-spiced pita chips ($6), which stand out more than the standard pita. Grain bowls ($20-$24) are the comprehensive option, featuring savory hummus made with black garbanzos, puckery tabbouleh salad, aromatic saffron rice, and your choice of fried cauliflower, grilled meat — like lamb seasoned with Ethiopian berbere — or falafel. Those orbs have garnered a local following for being crunchy yet tender. Topham uses a mix of whole chickpeas and chickpea flour to create a looser texture, which, Topham says, helps prevent dryness as the flour soaks up the frying oil. The falafel are a great accompaniment ($6) to loaded fries ($14), which are a step above the average, balancing salty decadence with acidity. Feta cheese, tahini-yogurt sauce and pickled onions combat the rich spice of the za'atar. The fries are where you can get maximalist with flavor. I encourage you to add nutty green tahini, seasoned with turmeric and fenugreek, and house-made hot sauce, a paste made of three Mexican peppers. For something lighter, try the unconventional fattoush salad (small for $12, large $16), which reaches for beets and apples when tomatoes are out of season. You'll want to eat in the large, charming outdoor patio, whose wooden perimeter is decorated with kitschy art made from salvaged gardening tools. It's as if the place was created to maximize the pacifying warmth of the Sonoma sun. There's indoor seating, too, but the area is mostly functional. Despite Spread's casual nature, nothing is casual about Topham's command of flavor, which she honed over 27 years of cooking. She cut her teeth in kitchens in Paris, New York and Napa; she worked as a private chef and cooked on yachts, where she once crossed paths with Meryl Streep. ('She's really nice,' Topham said.) In 2016, she launched Spread Kitchen as a catering company in Sonoma. The pandemic forced her to pivot to meal kits, and in 2021, she brought Spread to Wine Country farmers markets. A year later, she opened Spread, her first restaurant, right off Highway 12 in Sonoma. Topham views food as a creative outlet. 'I like to play with my food,' she said. That sense of exuberance is what attracted me to Spread. It clears the bar for traditional mezzes but always leaves room for the chef's personality. Is Spread the most traditional? No, but that's the point. Hours: 11 a.m.-8:30 p.m Wednesday-Sunday. Accessibility: Steps by front entrance. Wheelchair ramp by back entrance. Outdoor area with wooden deck, which isn't wheelchair accessible. Noise level: Mild. Meal for two, without drinks: $45-$60 Drinks: Beer and wine. Try the orange blossom lemonade ($4). Best practices: Experiment with the dips and sauces by seeing how many you can try in one bite.
