Bryson Green's long road to Wisconsin started in enemy territory – Minnesota.
MADISON – Phil Longo was the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Ole Miss when he first became involved in the recruitment of Bryson Green, a wide receiver from Allen High School in Texas.
By the time Green was a high school senior in the spring of 2021, Longo was the offensive/quarterbacks coach at North Carolina and the Tar Heels pursued Green.
One problem. The Tar Heels had one scholarship left for the class and Green and his twin brother, Blaine, wanted to play together.
The brothers eventually signed with Oklahoma State and both played as freshmen in 2021. Bryson caught 12 passes for 139 yards; Blaine caught 21 passes for 314 yards.
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Blaine missed last season because of a wrist injury and Bryson finished with 36 catches for 584 yards and five touchdowns.
He chose to transfer to UW after the Guaranteed Rate Bowl, but Blaine stayed with the Cowboys.
"Ever since I started to play football I played with him," Bryson Green said after practice Wednesday. "It is my first time being away from him, but I FaceTime him every single day and he is having a great fall camp so I am excited.
"It is a little weird but we’re getting used to it. At the end of the day we both have the same goal, which is the NFL. I think we’re both going to do a great job doing that and we cheer each other on from the sideline....
"I think we’re going to throw the ball a lot. I think we’re going to run the ball a lot. I also think we’re going to win a lot."
Bryson Green was born to be a Golden Gopher
Bryson Green was born In 2002 in Woodbury, Minnesota, about 18 miles east of the Minnesota campus. His family moved to Texas after the twins completed the sixth grade.
His father, Bryan, was a running back for the Gophers in the early 1990s. His brother Seth played quarterback and wide receiver for the Gophers from 2017 through 2021. Seth Green rushed seven times for 22 yards in the Gophers’ 37-15 victory over the Badgers in 2018 in Madison.
"I tried to give him some Badger gear when I was home in May," Bryson said of Seth, "but he wouldn’t put it on."
Yet Bryson Green acknowledged Seth pushed him to visit UW last winter.
"He came with me on my visit here and he actually advocated for me to come here," Bryson Green said. "He thought it would be a great fit for me as a player. He wouldn’t lie to me. Even though he doesn’t like the school too much just because there is a rivalry, he advocated for me to go here and I think I made the right decision."
Bryson Green was a coveted prospect coming out of high school
Bryson Green reportedly held 18 scholarship offers as a senior in high school. The teams included Michigan State, Minnesota and Nebraska from the Big Ten; Auburn, Mississippi State and Ole Miss of the SEC; and Oklahoma State, Baylor, Kansas, TCU and Texas Tech of the Big 12.
"They were in my top five," he said of Minnesota. "I took a bunch of visits there but I didn’t think it would be as good of a fit as my other school (Oklahoma State)."
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin transfer wide receiver Bryson Green has Minnesota ties
