Sam Pittman reveals how transfer QB Taylen Green was the perfect fit for Bobby Petrino's offense

Arkansas is going to have a new-look offense this season under OC Bobby Petrino. QB Taylen Green, the transfer from Boise State, will now come in and lead it as it takes the field in 2024.

Sam Pittman spoke about the Razorbacks’ addition of Green during his appearance on ‘SEC This Morning’ on Thursday. He said that, when discussing who the ‘Hogs wanted in the portal this offseason, Green was their top option because of what he brought and the skillset that he has.

“We sat there and looked at about four or five, you know. There’s a lot of quarterbacks in the portal,” Pittman recalled. “Talked about what Bobby wanted to do, what I wanted to do. Obviously, I want to run the ball and be able to protect your play-action game. That was Bobby’s, kind of, forte as well. Then we got to watching these guys and we knew that Taylen Green could make things happen, not only with his arm but with his legs.”

“We said, okay, let’s go after him, see if we can get him,” said Pittman. “A lot of times in the portal, you’ll go after a guy and you’ll settle for two, you settle for three. He was the guy we wanted.”

With them eventually earning Green’s commitment, Pittman credited Petrino for what he did in his recruitment.

“Bobby actually was the first guy to offer him when he was the head coach at Missouri State. That played a part of it,” said Pittman. “Him being from Lewisville here, just north of Dallas played a part of it, coming back. Arkansas played a heavy part of it. But I think Bobby played a huge part of getting him here. He hit on him. He hit on him on and off the field,” Pittman said. “It was a really, really big get for us.”

“All these things that we went over? He said this is the guy. This is the guy I want to go get,” Pittman further explained at the desk on ‘SEC Now’. “That was Bobby’s decision to go get Taylen. Basically, all I did was okay it and he went out and got him.”

Green played during the past three seasons with the Broncos in Idaho. He appeared in 28 games through his time as a redshirt sophomore, including 22 starts, with most of his outings coming in the past two years. In that time, Green has completed 59.4% of his throws for 3,794 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions. He has also rushed 164 times for 1,026 yards, good for 6.3 yards a carry, for 19 more scores. That production helped Boise State to an overall record of 18-10 across 2022 and 2023.

With his transfer, Green was the No. 396 overall player per On3’s 2024 Transfer Portal Top Players. That also rated him as the No. 32 QB in the portal. That made him the ninth highest-rated pickup for them out of 21 total in a Top-30 class.

In his one spring with Arkansas, Green’s pairing with Petrino is going well. As Pittman put it, it has led to a new level understanding for him as a quarterback.

“I think they’re doing great,” said Pittman. “I mean Taylen said, ‘I didn’t know nothing before I came here!’”

Green will start at quarterback this season for Arkansas in 2024. Pittman is ready to see him play for them too with what he knows that he is going to bring at the position as a ‘Hog this year.

“We’re really excited about our quarterback,” said Pittman.

“Taylen was the number one guy that we wanted. By golly, I’m telling you, we hit,” said Pittman. “I’m just telling you. We hit. You’ll see it this fall. We hit.”