Connection between Missouri State and Arkansas runs deeper than Petrino
The talk of this week has been Bobby Petrino's return to Arkansas as the head coach of Missouri State, but Petrino is not the only person with ties to the Razorbacks that will be returning to the Natural State.
During his four seasons as the head coach of Arkansas (2008-11), Petrino was 34-17 and he led the Hogs to three straight bowl appearances — Liberty Bowl (2009), Sugar Bowl (2010) and the Cotton Bowl (2011). His tenure in Fayetteville came to an end in April of 2012 due to his infamous motorcycle scandal.
In his time at Arkansas, Petrino actually coached the Hogs to a pair of victories over Missouri State in 2009 and 2011. Arkansas outscored the Bears by a combined score of 99-17 in those two games.
While he was at Arkansas, Petrino made plenty of connections that he still has to this day.
Missouri State's offensive coordinator is Nick Petrino, who is Bobby Petrino's son. Nick started his collegiate coaching career in 2011 at Arkansas as a student coach, assisting with development of quarterbacks.
The Bears' cornerbacks coach is Tramain Thomas, who was a four-year letter winner as a defensive back for the Hogs. He was an All-American in 2011, when he was second on the team with 91 tackles and had a team-high five interceptions. He was a second-team All-SEC selection in 2010 and an honorable mention All-SEC pick in 2011.
Reggie Johnson serves as Missouri State's inside linebackers coach. He spent four seasons with Petrino as the linebackers coach at Arkansas from 2008-11.
Defensive line coach L.D. Scott worked with defensive tackles as an intern with Arkansas in 2011. He moved up to a graduate assistant role with the Hogs in 2012.
Three players on the Bears' roster hail from the Natural State.
Former Razorbacks and Cincinnati wide receiver Jordan Jones is still around. He played 22 games with the Hogs in 2017-18, hauling in 38 passes for 592 yards and four touchdowns. After spending two seasons with the Bearcats, the Smackover native is now in his final collegiate season with Missouri State.
Alongside Jones at wide receiver is sophomore Springdale native Hunter Wood. He helped lead Sprindale Har-Ber to an 8-4 record his senior season (2019) with 68 receptions for 1,103 yards and 15 touchdowns. Wood was a consensus 7A all-state performer in 2019 and a finalist for the Farm Bureau 6A/7A Offensive Player of the Year.
P.J Hall is a safety from Joe T. Robinson High School in Little Rock. He was the 4A Defensive Player of the Year in 2019 for a 14-1 state championship team under coach Todd Eskola. Hall was a team captain, an all-state selection and was MVP of the state championship game with 8 catches for 85 yards and 3 touchdowns against Shiloh Christian.
The Hogs and Bears will kickoff at 6 p.m. Saturday inside Reynold Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville. The game will be streamed on ESPN+/SECN+.