How Petrino Gone May Improve Hogs' Offense with Addition by Subtraction

Bobby Petrino's move to North Carolina with Bill Belichick shows why the Arkansas Razorbacks offense is better off without him.

Arkansas Razorbacks offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino during a fall camp practice at the indoor center in Fayetteville, Ark. | Andy Hodges-allHOGS Images

Sometimes the best move a program makes isn't adding someone. It's losing someone.

That's the quiet reality Arkansas fans may be starting to see these days as Bobby Petrino is now the Great Playcaller for North Carolina. He's never appeared to be much of a recruiter.

He's landed in Chapel Hill as the Tar Heels' offensive coordinator under head coach Bill Belichick. It's a move that raises eyebrows and, if you're a Razorbacks fan, quietly brings a sense of relief as Michael Main's story at BestofArkansasSports.com pointed out early Sunday morning.

Petrino's football mind has never really been the question. The 65-year-old can draw up an offense. That part isn't up for debate.

The question that dogged him throughout both of his seasons in Fayetteville was whether he could find the players to run it. Based on the recruiting numbers, the answer was a consistent no.

Arkansas Razorbacks interim head coach Bobby Petrino during the third quarter against the Auburn Tigers at Razorback Stadium. | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

He inherited enough talented players a previous staff had lined up for the Razorbacks in his first time as head coach that the wins and scoreboards blowing up detracted fans from noticing there wasn't a huge number of new guys coming in.

During Petrino's two years in Arkansas, the Hogs finished near the bottom of the SEC in recruiting class rankings — not once but twice. The highest-rated players in both of those classes weren't offensive players at all. They were on the defensive side of the ball.

For an offensive coordinator with Petrino's reputation, that's a difficult stat to explain away. Bud he did call great plays, just not enough of them.

The hands-off recruiting approach that defined Petrino's time in Fayetteville didn't just cost Arkansas wins. It cost the program relationships with talented players right in its own backyard.

According to Main's reporting, that pattern hasn't exactly changed now that Petrino's in North Carolina.

UNC football coach Bill Belichick during a postgame press conference after the Tar Heels' win against Stanford. | Rodd Baxley/The Fayetteville Observer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Petrino's Silence on Committed Player Tells Familiar Story

Here's a detail that caught attention and Main's story pointed out: Sheridan standout Isaiah Stephens committed to North Carolina on March 28. He'll now play in Petrino's offense as a Tar Heel.

But as of April 1, Stephens told Best of Arkansas Sports that he'd spoken with Petrino only once and that conversation happened when Petrino was still the offensive coordinator at Arkansas.

Read that again. A player who's committed to play in your offense, and you've had one conversation with him a conversation that took place at a different school.

Considering some boosters thought he would be the savior for former coach Sam Pittman, everybody got fired and he probably was never really seriously considered as the permentn replacement. For whatever reason.

For Arkansas fans who watched Petrino's tenure in Fayetteville with growing frustration, this detail isn't surprising. It fits a pattern.

Main noted in his story that Petrino took a similar hands-off approach with quarterback Kane Archer from Greenwood, who ultimately committed to Utah after not receiving meaningful interest from Arkansas.

Bryant tailback TJ Hodges was committed to Missouri before Ryan Silverfield — not Petrino — was able to flip him in December. The offensive coordinator wasn't driving those conversations.

That's the part that stings when you evaluate Petrino's tenure in Arkansas honestly. The scheme was there. The recruiter wasn't.

Sheridan running back Isaiah Stephens visited Arkansas Razorbacks game against LSU Oct. 19, 2024. | Jason Stephens

Stephens Found Different Connection in Chapel Hill

To be fair to North Carolina's 2027 recruiting situation, Isaiah Stephens isn't exactly lacking attention in Chapel Hill — it's just not coming from his future offensive coordinator.

As Michael Main reported for Best of Arkansas Sports, it's actually Belichick himself who's served as Stephens' lead recruiter throughout the process.

That relationship traces back to Belichick's longstanding friendship with Sheridan head coach Kevin Kelley. The two have been connected for years, sharing ideas about unconventional football strategy.

Belichick, 73, has a genuine appreciation for Kelley's unorthodox approach that includes always going for two-point conversions and taking onside kicks regardless of game situation.

That friendship opened a door for Stephens, and Belichick walked through it.

Stephens told Best of Arkansas Sports that while it's "always a little nerve-wracking" talking with an eight-time Super Bowl champion who carries an irritable reputation, "we actually had pretty good conversations." Stephens was quick to add context that, "He's human, too."

That's a telling quote. Belichick's reputation as a cold, difficult personality precedes him everywhere he goes, but Stephens described something different — a coach who's engaged and excited.

Stephens said Belichick talks to him every week or so and breaks down the game at a level unlike anything he's heard from other coaches. Before the commitment was made, Belichick would tell Stephens, "I want to show you how you would thrive in this offense."

That's recruiting. That's the personal connection that gets a kid to pick up and move across the country. Ironically, it's coming from the defensive-minded head coach rather than the offensive coordinator. Petrino doesn't have it.

Arkansas Razorbacks offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino before game with Tennessee Vols at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark. | Michael Morrison-Hogs on SI Images

What Stephens' Recruitment Reveals About Petrino and Arkansas

Stephens is exactly the kind of player who should've been on Arkansas's radar long before North Carolina came calling.

The 5-foot-8, 175-pound tailback ran for 1,303 yards and 19 touchdowns as a junior at Sheridan. He added another 627 yards and four scores as a receiver. He held offers from Ole Miss, Purdue and SMU.

Arkansas never offered him. That didn't change when Silverfield replaced Sam Pittman and it didn't change during Petrino's time running the offense in Fayetteville.

Now Stephens is heading to Chapel Hill, committed to play in the very offense run by the coach who never extended him an offer. It's a strange circle. And it's the kind of in-state miss that chips away at a program's credibility with local talent over time.

Stephens told Best of Arkansas Sports he's planning to enroll early in December and that he's focused on getting on the field and getting developed.

"I'm trying to get there and play, get on the field early and show what I can do," he said. "Not just playing early, but also getting developed by one of the greatest coaching staffs in the game."

That's a motivated player who's ready to work. The Hogs didn't make a run at him. That's on the staff that was here, and a big part of that staff is now in North Carolina.

What This Means for Arkansas Moving Forward

The Razorbacks aren't sitting still. Silverfield has the program pointed in a new direction, and the early signs on the recruiting trail suggest a more aggressive approach that includes players in the state of Arkansas and the region around it.

The Class of 2027 is loaded with tailback talent in the Natural State. Arkansas has already offered the likes of Jeremiah Dent out of Marion, Mason Ball from Jacksonville and Micah Gamble out of Fordyce.

That's the kind of in-state engagement that builds goodwill and keeps talented players from looking elsewhere before the Hogs ever make a move.

Whether Silverfield can build on that momentum and avoid the passive recruiting approach that defined the Petrino era in Fayetteville is the real question.

The early returns suggest the new staff understands what's at stake. The Stephens' situation is a reminder of what happens when a program doesn't act.

Petrino is a good offensive mind. He'll draw up plays at North Carolina that'll make football fans appreciate the offense if the scoreboard lights up.

But Arkansas' offense is in a different place now where the recruiting room and the scheme room need to work together. That starts with coaches who pick up the phone, build relationships and make players feel wanted before another program swoops in.

The Razorbacks appear to be trending in that direction.

Losing Petrino might be exactly the subtraction that helps this program add up to something bigger.