New Hogs QB Grayson Wilson Wants to Put a Certain Troubling Notion to Bed

Taylen Green, Grayson Wilson, KJ Jackson, Arkansas football
L to R: Arkansas quarterbacks Taylen Green, Grayson Wilson and KJ Jackson

On what was one of the best days of his life, Grayson Wilson was blindsided by some unexpected news.

It was in the middle of his signing day ceremony on Dec. 4 that the four-star quarterback out of Conway found out via social media that the Razorbacks were bringing in another quarterback in the 2025 class.

While many fans celebrated the flip of top-250 recruit Madden Iamaleava — the brother of Tennessee’s Nico Iamaleava — from UCLA, Wilson was left grappling with a broken promise.

“I wasn’t aware of that,” Wilson told KATV’s Jack Allen after his ceremony. “I was told that they weren’t going to (sign two quarterbacks). So that’s tough, but that’s part of it.”

While those comments might have led some to think Wilson was wavering on his commitment to the Razorbacks after getting hit by the Iamaleava news, that wasn’t the case at all. And, in a telephone interview with Best of Arkansas Sports, he made that clear.

Wilson’s loyalty to Arkansas started practically at birth – he attended his first Hogs game at 4 weeks old – and wasn’t about to crack on account of the quarterback room growing by one.

It helped that Bobby Petrino called Wilson that night to sort things out. The Arkansas offensive coordinator explained the decision to sign another talented quarterback was made because of Malachi Singleton’s departure rather than any lack of confidence in him — plus Iamaleava was a package deal with high three-star wide receiver Jace Brown.

As he slowly made his way to Fayetteville through a snowstorm last Thursday, Wilson reflected on that conversation, telling us that Petrino laid out an impending battle to be Taylen Green’s backup.

“He was just letting me know that they’re still looking forward to me getting up there and looking forward to what I can bring to the table,” Wilson said on the phone. “He said he’s assuming Taylen’s going to be the QB1 next year, and then all of us are just going to be able to battle for that quarterback two position, but then if something happens, next man up.”

Arkansas Quarterback Room

Given the nature of the position, schools typically recruit only one high school quarterback per class. When they do sign multiple, one is usually clearly ahead of the other — think Lucas Coley/Landon Rogers in 2021 and Connor Noland/John Stephen Jones in 2018.

In Grayson Wilson and Madden Iamaleava, though, the Razorbacks have two bonafide four-star signal callers. They join a quarterback room that includes incumbent Taylen Green, redshirt freshman KJ Jackson, second-year transfer Blake Boda and walk-on Austin Ledbetter.

Among that group, Jackson — another former four-star recruit — is believed to be the biggest competition for the two true freshmen when it comes to the battle for QB2.

Needless to say, there’s not a clear path to the top of the depth chart for Wilson, but he wants to play for the Razorbacks and knows he’d be facing similar challenges pretty much anywhere he went. With transfers becoming the norm, true freshmen rarely come in and start from Day 1.

That’s one reason he didn’t hold a grudge against Sam Pittman or Bobby Petrino.

“They’re bringing in a bunch of guys in the transfer portal right now and they’re bringing in wide receivers, running backs, defensive backs, all that,” Wilson said. “They’re going to try and get the best players at every position and everybody has to work. No one’s spot is secure. That’s why I’m moving up here early to try and get a head start and trying to learn the playbook as quickly as possible to try and build my way up the roster.”

Grayson Wilson Not Afraid of Competition

Luckily for Grayson Wilson, he has some recent experience with picking up a playbook in short order with brand new teammates.

That’s exactly what the 18-year-old had to do – albeit under even more limited time restraints than he’ll have in Fayetteville – for the U.S. Army Bowl in Frisco, Texas, last month.

“You don’t really understand how kind of challenging it is to learn a bunch of plays in two days until you actually have to go do it,” Wilson said. “But we handled it well. Our team won (and) thought I did pretty well.”

Playing in one of the high school all-star games was the culmination of a heralded high school career that began at Central Arkansas Christian.

However, after starting at the Class 4A school, Wilson made the jump to 7A by transferring to Conway High for his senior year. Despite battling an injury that cost him four weeks, he helped the Wampus Cats reach the state semifinals.

Along the way, Wilson competed – and shined – in several national events.

In December 2023, he posted the second-highest score among 70 quarterbacks at the U.S. Army Bowl Combine, earning him a spot in the Army Bowl the following year. A few months later, he was named the co-quarterback MVP of the UA Next Camp in Dallas.

Wilson also competed in the Elite 11 Oxford Regional last April and caught the attention of 247Sports’ Cooper Petagna, who said he turned in arguably the best performance of the day. His “athleticism, quick release and arm talent were hard to ignore,” he wrote.

While the only other offers he publicly revealed were from Illinois, Pittsburgh and Central Arkansas, Wilson received others from big-time schools. He said he didn’t think much of them because he was never interested in playing anywhere other than Arkansas.

Wilson Fulfills Dream at Arkansas

Playing time as a true freshman will likely be tough to come by for Grayson Wilson, even if he wins the backup job. That’s because Taylen Green has already announced he’s returning for a second season with the Razorbacks.

In his first season since transferring in from Boise State, Green put up the second-most total yards in a single season in Arkansas football history. His 3,756 yards were just shy of the late Ryan Mallett’s mark of 3,795 set in 2010.

Wilson told BoAS that he got to meet Green during his official visit last summer and then talked to him after a couple of games this year. He came away impressed.

“What I’ve heard is he is a really great leader and then whenever you’re able to talk to him in person, he really has a big personality,” Wilson said. “He keeps God first and he is always praying with the quarterbacks before the game. I think he’s who we need to have in charge and I’m really looking forward to learning from him.”

He’s also really looking forward to being mentored by Green after talking to KJ Jackson last year and hearing about how much the veteran helped the freshman learn the playbook. He should be able to pass on some of that knowledge in the meeting room and on the practice field.

“It’ll be different from Coach Petrino’s point of view,” Wilson said. “It’ll be from a player who has been in the offense for a year and I’m sure he’ll give me some tips and help me out on that.”

For now, though, Wilson has to adjust to college life after moving in last week. He got his class schedule Thursday morning and said meetings and his first workout was on Monday.

Eight weeks of offseason training loom before the start of spring practice, when he’ll officially get to work on accomplishing his dream.

“It’s always been a dream to be on the team and be a starter,” Wilson said. “I’ve been gifted that position to be given a scholarship and there’s a lot of guys that aren’t necessarily too grateful and then they get too greedy. But I’m thankful and I thank the Lord for that.”

Arkansas Football Quarterbacks

Here’s a quick rundown of the quarterback room, from our 2025 Arkansas football roster tracker:

  • Scholarship: 5
  • Total on Roster: 6

Projected 2025 Roster

  • Taylen Green — redshirt senior
  • Blake Boda — redshirt sophomore
  • KJ Jackson — redshirt freshman
  • ^Madden Iamaleava — freshman
  • ^Grayson Wilson — freshman
  • *Austin Ledbetter — redshirt sophomore

Leaving the Team

  • Malachi Singleton — transfer portal

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Check out this breakdown of Grayson Wilson and Madden Iamaleava:

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