Petrino doesn’t stop at first no landing green for Razorbacks

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Do you think Bobby Petrino ever asked a girl in high school if she had turned him down before? Did he go back and try again, hoping for the best?

I couldn’t help but think about that as I was thinking about the recruitment of Taylen Green. Yes, the same Taylen Green who turned down Petrino’s offer out of high school. But Bobby swallowed his pride because he knew what he wanted. It was the multi-talented Green as his quarterback. So he went looking for a second time.

You know how that ended. Green couldn’t say no to Bobby Petrino twice. Which made a whole lot of Arkansas football fans happier than a big ol’ Hog splashing around in the mud.

Petrino was the head coach at Missouri State when he first offered a scholarship to Green, a senior at Lewisville, Texas. Green was a three-star recruit and the No. 21 dual-threat quarterback in the country. He committed to Boise State, redshirted his freshman year, started his sophomore year and blossomed into a top prospect in 2023.

Green entered the transfer portal after scoring four touchdowns, two passing and two more running as he led Boise State to a victory in the Mountain West Conference title game. Petrino, who had been hired as Arkansas’ offensive coordinator a few weeks earlier in November, must have felt like the high school kid with a secret crush on the pretty girl who had just dumped her boyfriend.

Petrino pounced. Like the Godfather, he apparently made an offer Green couldn’t refuse.

It also helped, Green said, that Petrino asked him out… well, recruited him… in 2020 and 2021.

“I had a relationship with Coach Petrino before. He was my first offer coming out of high school,” Green said a few days ago at SEC Media Days in Dallas. “(I) went into the transfer portal and he called me every morning. Sometimes I wouldn’t be awake and he’d text me. He made me a priority. That meant a lot.”

Petrino didn’t just tell Green how good he was and how much Arkansas needed him. No, the veteran coach combined a soft sell with constant attention before Green even agreed to visit Arkansas. It was his first visit after entering the transfer portal. In fact, as a 2020 recruit during COVID, he couldn’t take official visits until his freshman year.

“We talked about the ball for about two or three hours before my recruiting visit and then we didn’t talk about the ball at all. We just talked about Arkansas and what it’s like there and stuff like that,” Green said.

And he said yes, at least for one date: the recruiting visit.

“I did the visit,” Green said. “That was my first official visit, because I was a COVID baby.”

Petrino laid out his plan for UA’s offense and outlined what head coach Sam Pittman expected from his quarterback.

“Just the vision that he and Coach Pitt had. I’m really thankful for the belief and the vision that they have,” Green said. “With the weapons that we have offensively and a great defense, I think the sky’s the limit for us.”

The Hogs’ best player on the other side of the ball, senior defensive end Landon Jackson, was impressed with Green during spring training and believes the honeymoon between quarterback and coach will develop into a successful marriage.

“He’s a great fit for Coach Petrino’s offense,” Jackson said. “I’m really happy we have him. I think every team that’s had Coach Petrino that’s been really successful has a quarterback that plays the way Taylen plays. That’s something I’m really looking forward to this season.”

PIG FEED:

• Aggressive defense can make the difference for Hogs in close games

• Fans should temper expectations about the wonders Petrino can perform with his offense

• Petrino’s Razorbacks offense ‘explosive,’ Armstrong says

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