Petrino Getting Green Like Overcoming Rejection for Second Date

Razorbacks' quarterback turned down offensive coordinator at Missouri State, but coach got him with second chance

Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback Taylen Green drops back in the pocket in the Red-White spring game at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark. / Michael Morrison-HogsSI Images

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

Couldn't help musing over that while pondering the recruitment of Taylen Green. Yep, the same Taylen Green who spurned Petrino's offer coming out of high school.

But Petrino swallowed his pride because knew what he wanted. That was the multi-talented Green to be his quarterback.

So he went courting a second time. All of Arkansas knows how that turned out.

Green couldn't say no twice to Petrino. That made a whole bunch of Razorback football fans happier than a big ol' Hog slopping around in the mud.

Petrino was head coach at Missouri State when he first offered a scholarship to Green, who was a senior in Lewisville, Texas. Green was a 3-star recruit and the No. 21 dual-threat quarterback in the country.

He opted for Boise State, redshirted his first year, blossomed into a stud in 2022 before battling consistency as a part-time starter in 2023. Green entered the transfer portal after accounting for four touchdowns, two passing and two more running, while leading Boise State to a win in the Mountain West Conference title game.

Petrino, who'd been hired as Arkansas' offensive coordinator in November a few weeks before must've felt like the high school kid with a secret crush on the pretty girl who'd just dumped her boyfriend.

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

It didn't hurt, Green says, that Petrino asked him out – well, recruited him – back in 2020 and '21.

"I had a relationship previously with Coach Petrino," Green said at SEC media days. "He was my first offer coming out of high school. [I] hit the transfer portal, and he called me every morning. Sometimes I wasn't up, and he would 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 the constant attention before Green even agreed to visit Arkansas.

It was his first visit after entering the transfer portal. As a 2020 recruit during COVID, he didn't get to take official visits before his freshman year.

"We met before [my recruiting visit] for about two, three hours talking about ball and [then] not even talking about ball, talking about Arkansas and how it is and stuff like that," Green said.

And he finally said yes to the recruiting visit. Petrino laid out his plan for the Hogs' offense and portrayed what head coach Sam Pittman wanted from his quarterback.

"Just the vision that he had and Coach Pitt had," Green said. "I'm truly grateful for the belief and the vision that they have. With the weapons that we have offensively, and a great defense, I feel like 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 by Green during spring practices. He figures the honeymoon between quarterback and coach will blossom into a successful marriage.

"He fits Coach Petrino's offense great," Jackson said. "I'm really glad we got him. I feel like every team Coach Petrino has had that's been very successful. He's had a quarterback that plays the way Taylen plays. That's one thing I'm really excited to see this season."

HOGS FEED:

• Aggressive defense could be difference for Hogs' in tight games

• Fans need to cool down expectations on miracles Petrino can do pull off with offense

• Petrino's Razorbacks' offense 'explosive,' says Armstrong

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