Arkansas, Green hoping to benefit from new bill of health

Originally posted on Arkansas Razorbacks on SI
By Daniel Shi | Last updated Aug 9, 2025 9:00 PM ET

A lot has been made of Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green's potential improvement under offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino.

One of the revalations out of fall camp has been Green's injury status after he suffered a knee injury in the Tennessee game last year.

Green had a solid first season with the Razorbacks, finishing fifth in the SEC in passing yards (3,154) and third among conference quarterbacks in rushing yards (602).

He still has a lot to clean up, he finished 12th in the SEC in completion percentage (60.4%) and threw nine interceptions. His numbers should improve,now being nearly a full year removed from the lingering effects of the hit and remembers specific plays where the injury hampered his ability to be a true dual threat quarterback.

"It was pretty difficult," Green said. "It was hard not just physically, [but also] mentally. I wanted to break some runs, and I knew if I was healthy I could do it." But at the same time, it made me stay in the pocket a little bit more and use my arm a little bit,

Green tries to look back at playing through the injury with a positive spin. Being unable to run forced him to improve through the air.

"That’s what I love about last year and about spring and fall," "I can’t really run that much, so I look at it as a different perspective of homing in on my passing game, my footwork, which Coach Petrino is always on me about."

Strength coach Ben Sowders was the first to reveal what Green went through the back half of the 2024 season.

"We've kind of kept it in house," Sowders said. He's a tough sucker. What he dealt with the last seven games of our season, in the bowl game, a lot of people wouldn't even play."

The Razorbacks had their first closed door scrimmage Saturday and Hogs coach Sam Pittman seemed satisfied with Green's performance.

"He threw the ball really well," Pittman said. "[He was] accurate, ran the offense, controlled like a second-year guy probably – that's ready to go – should. "

Green is also impressed with the overall cohesion with the team that still has a week left to go in fall camp.

"We're clicking and communicating on our sidelines," Green said. "O-line talking to me about what they saw, and I'm talking to them what they saw. Receivers, running backs and the defense stepping up later in the scrimmage. Just really, a competitive scrimmage."

Arkansas will head into the final week of a fall camp after an off day Sunday 9:15 a.m. Sunday. The Razorbacks are now just over 20 days away from the season opener against Alabama A&M. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:15 p.m. Aug. 30 and will be broadcast on SEC Network.