HawgBeat - Arkansas signee CJ Brown praises new OC Bobby Petrino
Arkansas three-star wide receiver signee CJ Brown is already familiar with his new offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino.
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While the Arkansas Razorbacks are likely looking to add a receiver or two in the transfer portal, head coach Sam Pittman and new offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino have a strong crop of young pass catchers coming to campus as part of the 2024 recruiting class.
The only in-state receiver making the move to Fayetteville is Bentonville High School standout CJ Brown, who committed to the Hogs on June 15 and put pen to paper on Dec. 20.
Brown and the Tigers came up just short in a 22-16 loss to Fayetteville in the 7A state championship game on Dec. 2. Brown caught 61 passes for 1,384 yards and 16 touchdowns as a senior. He also ran for two touchdowns, threw for one and he returned three kickoffs for touchdowns.
A speedy three-star prospect, Brown was born in Cleveland and made a brief move to Minnesota before his family settled in Northwest Arkansas. While he didn't always view himself as an Arkansas fan, Brown kept up with the Hogs and he remembers when his new offensive coordinator — Petrino — was head coach of the Razorbacks from 2008-11.
"There's nothing but positive things talked about Bobby Petrino," Brown said in an interview with ESPN Arkansas. "He's an offensive genius, as people call him. I'm really excited to get into his system."
Brown didn't commit to Petrino, though. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound athlete gave his pledge to former offensive coordinator Dan Enos, who was fired just eight games into the 2023 season.
"Dan Enos got hired and they had to do a lot of convincing and telling everybody how good he was," Brown said. "But when Bobby Petrino got hired, everybody already knew how good he was."
On the Bentonville Tigers coaching staff is former Arkansas offensive lineman Marcus Danenhauer as offensive line coach and former walk-on defensive back Dakota Baggett as defensive backs coach. Both Danenhauer and Baggett played for Petrino and they've shared with Brown what he can expect from his new play caller.
"He'll sit down in the film room and start breaking stuff down and you can't do anything but just be quiet and listen because of how amazing it is and how his mind processes football and offenses in general," Brown said. "I'm a really technical person and getting taught by another technical person, I think that's going to work really well for me."
Before Petrino showed up, it was receivers coach Kenny Guiton who stepped in to serve as interim offensive coordinator for the final four games of the 4-8 campaign. Guiton is reportedly leaving the Hogs to coach receivers for Wisconsin, but that hasn't been made official yet.
"I really do hate to see him go," Brown told HawgBeat. "He was like an uncle."
Despite the coaching changes, the bad season and other top in-state talent going elsewhere, Brown remained loyal to Arkansas. The Hogs also kept other top recruits such as four-star quarterback KJ Jackson, who Brown said he talks with almost everyday. Brown also said he talks with Missouri City, Texas, four-star receiver Ashton Bethel-Roman pretty regularly.
Brown will be one of 21 early enrollees out of the 25 players who signed with Arkansas in December. That number does include the eight transfers that Arkansas signed in December. For a full 2024 roster outlook, click here.
