Does Hogs' Quarterback Have 'It' Like Brady and Montana Did?

It started with a film star nearly 100 years ago and Green hopes to display it against Oklahoma State

Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback Taylen Green celebrates a touchdown against UAPB at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, Ark., / Ted McClenning-Hogs on SI Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — What do college football players need most, besides a huge NIL deal? Some would say good grades and support from a loving family. Others might prefer a devoted girlfriend.

Truth is, if a player has speed, strength, quickness and intelligence, he'll likely get the NIL money. For quarterbacks, throw in arm strength and leadership. Coaches hope every player is a gifted leader but most aren't, even among the most talented passers.

The best ability, as the saying goes, is availability. Ponder that one for a moment. If you can't play, you can't help the team win. So, having the willingness (some call it toughness) to play through aches and pains can be as important as talent. You can play when hurt, not when you're injured.

Much of those athletic characteristics are gifts, but they can be improved upon with coaching, practice, time in the weight room, and dedication.

There is a trait that can't be taught, however. You either got it or you don't. It's difficult to describe but most folks can recognize it. Scouts sure do, along with piano instructors, acting coaches and eighth-grade science teachers.

What is it? Possibly the most important two letters in sports. It's the "it" factor and we're about to find out if Taylen Green has it. Saturday's showdown at No. 16 Oklahoma State might not fully tell the tale, but it may. Sometimes this enviable and remarkable trait shows up in a flash.

Let's journey back in time, nearly 100 years ago. A silent film hit theaters in 1927, starring actress Clara Bow. The movie was "It" and because of her confident performance and magnetism in the movie, Bow became known as the "It Girl."

Confident performance and magnetism. Bow had both but not every quarterback boasts the latter. Magnetism is what a select few are born with.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (12) hands off to running back Rachaad White (29) in the third quarter during a wild card game at Raymond James Stadium. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Tom Brady had it. Joe Montana had it. For all his talent, K.J. Jefferson does not. But neither did, in my opinion, uber-talented greats such as Dan Marino, Michael Vick and Jim Kelly. Neither does Lamar Jackson or Dak Prescott or Trevor Lawrence.

Patrick Mahomes has it in spades. Josh Allen? Doesn't seem to, for sure. For Mahomes, it's not about throwing behind-the-back passes, no-look passes, left-handed passes, although that's part of his charm and swagger. It's more about the ability to raise his performance when it matters most, and to elevate his teammates as well.

Montana, who'd already won two of his four Super Bowls, trailed the Bengals in the 1989 season finale with 3:20 on the clock and 92 yards of grass between his team and victory. So, in this moment of intense pressure, what did "Cool Joe" do?

"Hey, isn't that John Candy," he famously said to 49ers guard Harris Barton after spotting the comedian in the stands. Nothing ruffled Montana, who quickly completed 6-of-7 passes to lead the game-winning drive and cement his legend with the win and his demeanor.

Montana also displayed "It" in the 1979 Cotton Bowl when he was shaking from a low body temperature due to a wind chill of minus-6. He ate some chicken soup at halftime but sat out the first 10 minutes of the second half. With 10th-ranked Notre Dame trailing No. 9 Houston 34-12, he went back in and led a 23-0 fourth-rally rally, throwing the game-winning touchdown with no time on the clock.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana (16) in action against the Washington Redskins at Candlestick Park. / Peter Brouillet-Imagn Images

Brady flashed the "It" factor long before anyone realized he could spell it. When the rookie quarterback got the ball at his own 17-yard line with 1:21 remaining and no timeouts in a tie game, the biggest game of his life at that point, legendary Super Bowl announcer John Madden said the Patriots should run out the clock and go to overtime. Hah! The fantasy life of Tom Brady began that day with a game-winning Super Bowl drive that avoided overtime.

Taylen Green doesn't remind me of Brady or Montana or even Vick or Lawrence or Quinn Grovey. He's got a lot to prove. But he's already made believers of teammates, including tight end Luke Hasz.

"I think he has a chance to be the best in the country," Hasz said. "You can just see his potential and the way he works and the way he studies the game and just how he's a leader, most of all."

When they first met back in spring practice, Hasz sensed something else about the Hogs' new quarterback.

"He just had something about him," Hasz said, "and he still does."

We'll see if it's "It" soon enough.