FAYETTEVILLE -- Tyler Wilson can admit it now.
He didn't much like playing for former Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino at the time, but he said ultimately it was a beneficial experience.
The former Razorback offered some insight Wednesday into playing quarterback for Petrino, living through the difficulties of the 2012 season and watching the Razorbacks break their 17-game SEC losing streak during a lively talk with the Northwest Arkansas Touchdown Club.
Wilson led Arkansas to a 10-1 start and the No. 3 ranking in 2011 before finishing No. 5 with a Cotton Bowl victory and an 11-2 record, but he said his relationship with Petrino was often painful.
"At the time I hated it," Wilson said of Petrino's harsh criticism. "I'd drive home every day ... and sometimes I'd be in tears and thinking, 'I don't know why I do this.' But that's all part of the process."
Wilson said he looks back fondly on the relationship.
"We had a lot of fun together," he said. "I'm so glad I had a coach who really coached me hard and was tough on me, because it tore all that baby skin off of you. ... I don't care what [fans] say about me because it's already been said by him."
Wilson called Arkansas' comeback from a 35-17 halftime deficit to a 42-38 victory "the most instrumental of all the wins" in 2011.
"I thought I was going to get replaced against Texas A&M, and I threw for 510 yards," Wilson said, relating how Petrino would at times turn and say "Get Brandon [Mitchell] warming up" if Wilson didn't play or react the way he wanted.
"You never knew," Wilson said. "I"m being dead serious. It's just the way it was."
Wilson, a standout at Greenwood High School who holds 29 Arkansas records, said he received a potential late first round to third round NFL draft grade after his junior season. He chose to return in 2012, before the motorcycle wreck that led to Petrino's dismissal, because he thought a lot of pieces were in place to have a better season.
"Knile [Davis] and I were kind of on a blitz to tell everybody that everything was going to be OK," he said. "I think that's what was difficult, because you're trying to hold it together internally and you're trying to do everything you can to keep people from transferring out and keeping the world from panicking.
"We were kind of Band-Aiding it together from players within."
Wilson, who was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in 2013, also has been with the Tennessee Titans and Cincinnati Bengals. He was released by the Bengals in late August and recently returned to Northwest Arkansas.
He attended Arkansas' 17-0 victory over LSU on Saturday, which marked his first game back on campus.
"You saw the way everybody stormed the field," he said. "I tell you what, I think they play really well for this staff. I think this staff does a great job of keeping them motivated every single week and keeping them in games."
Sports on 11/20/2014