When AJ Green announced his commitment to Oklahoma State exactly one year ago, one of his most important tasks was making sure Cowboys fans didn’t confuse him with AJ Green the defensive back, the former OSU standout who now plays cornerback for the Los Angeles Rams.
That task should have been fairly easy given the younger Green played on the other side of the ball as a running back. In three seasons at Arkansas, Green had racked up 951 yards and six touchdowns, along with 19 catches for 184 yards and two touchdowns. No doubt, Green was looking forward to teaming up with Ollie Gordon to form one of the nation’s best running back duos.
Unfortunately, that dream didn’t pan out.
AJ Green suffered a lower leg injury during spring practice that ended up keeping him out of the entire 2024 season. He missed getting to play against his former teammates in September, a rare bright spot for OSU in an otherwise miserable 9-loss season that led to Green re-entering the transfer portal in December.
Confusion Remains around AJ Green the DB
On Friday, Green essentially announced he’s returning to Arkansas in a social media post. He’s still being viewed as AJ Green the defensive back, however.
According to a few reports, including those by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s Richard Davenport and HawgSports’ Danny West, he will return to Arkansas, but go from scholarship to non-scholarship walk-on, as well as move from running back to defensive back. Green making such a move would be especially surprising given his history as standout recruit.
Playing for Tulsa Union, Green was a top-200 recruit in the Class of 2021 who was so electric as a running back that Razorback recruiting reporter Otis Kirk likened him to a combination of Darren McFadden and Felix Jones, another Tulsa native.
While Green drew all kinds of interest from major college programs, not all of it was the kind he wanted. As 247Sports reported, Green’s interest in the Oklahoma Sooners was initially cool because they wanted him as a defensive back. It’s only when they decided to recruit him as a running back that Green became more receptive to the overtures of DeMarco Murray, the Oklahoma football running backs coach.
Given Green’s history in standing up for the position he most wants to play, it’s perhaps not surprising to see some push back on the Friday reports that he’s going to play DB. Indeed, here’s Green himself making it clear what he thinks:
Also, a few hours after Danny West reported “Arkansas is expected to welcome back former Hog RB AJ Green as a walk-on DB” on “X,” Green responded with this simple message:
It’s very possible that the coaches expect Green to potentially try out at defensive back, but Green believes he’ll be best cut out for running back. That is, Green may see his role panning out to be something a bit different than how some coaches currently see it.
That makes sense given there’s a lot to sort out over the coming months as coaches get a sense of how good their depth is at certain positions, who else leaves and arrives via the transfer portal, and finally how well Green recovers and on what timeline.
The main thing is that Green clearly trusts Sam Pittman considering he decided to return to the place he’d left, while Pittman trusts Green enough to allow him back. This kind of bond, which has the potential to be stronger than ever since Green has already left for a year to experience another program, goes back to his days as a recruit.
“Even though they weren’t one of the winningest teams, they’re still over here working harder than a lot of teams,” Green told Richard Davenport. “I think we work harder than a lot of teams in the nation. I see it every morning. It’s just real.”
“Coach Pitt was pretty real with me. I knew I was coming here to work, and I was coming here to help something bigger than myself.”
Arkansas Running Back Room in 2025
Over the offseason, Arkansas lost four running backs, including starters in Ja’Quinden Jackson (NFL) and Rashod Dubinion (transfer to Appalachian State)
- Mike Washington — redshirt senior (transfer from New Mexico State)
- Rodney Hill — redshirt junior
- Tyrell Reed Jr. — redshirt sophomore
- Braylen Russell — sophomore
- JuJu Pope — redshirt freshman
- Markeylin Batton — freshman
- Cameron Settles — freshman
- Cade Fields — redshirt junior (walk-on)
This is a pretty full room, but it does appear that there’s an opportunity for playing time alongside Braylen Russell, Rodney Hill and transfer Mike Washington at the top of the too-early projected depth chart. To clear up space, JuJu Pope could move back to defense and Markeylin Batton is an “athlete” who may be able to move elsewhere as well, as our own Andrew Hutchinson points out.
Last spring, Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy laid out the role he saw AJ Green would play for the Cowboys: “What we need him to do is bring a physical, mature presence that allows our younger backs to develop. I feel good where we’re at depth-wise at that position, but those guys can go down fast. We needed a mature guy, and he brings that to the table.”
Nearly a year later, expect Pittman to say similar things about Green if he keeps the veteran where he wants to be.
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