HOOVER, Ala. - One stunning announcement at Arkansas was quickly followed by another last December.

Jonathan Luigs and the rest of the Razorbacks were still digesting the news that their coach, Houston Nutt, had left for Ole Miss. Then came another unexpected revelation: Bobby Petrino was leaving the Atlanta Falcons to come to Arkansas.

"I was surprised,'' the All-SEC center said Friday at SEC Football Media Days. "But I was elated that we got that high-power of a coach.

"He's made the transition as easy as possible. He said all the right things you need to hear from a coach as a player.''

Petrino said he was also elated - to be back in college football after an unpleasant 13-game stay in the NFL.

He had great success at Louisville and looks forward to the challenge of rebuilding Arkansas, which was picked by the media Friday to finish sixth in the SEC West.

"The state has certainly embraced me and my family,'' Petrino said.

The goal is to get recruits to embrace Petrino. His abrupt departure from Atlanta generated considerable negative publicity. It also exacerbated his track record for frequent moves.

Those topics repeatedly arose in recruiting, Petrino confirmed. But he said he and his staff were able to rise to the challenge.

"Recruiting went well,'' he said. "It became a non-issue.

"I feel like we went out and got the best players in the state of Arkansas to stay home. We got some real special talent there and we're going to count on 'em right away to play.''

Petrino will be subjected to a trip down memory lane in mid-October. On consecutive weeks, the Razorbacks play Auburn, Kentucky and, finally, Nutt and Ole Miss.

Petrino was Tommy Tuberville's offensive coordinator at Auburn 2002, then took the head coaching job at Louisville the next season.

In late November 2003, Auburn's president held a secret meeting with Petrino to explore bringing him back to Auburn as Tuberville's replacement.

Tuberville survived the purge, went on to lead Auburn to a 13-0 record in 2004 and is still firmly entrenched.

"It's a business,'' Tuberville said Friday. "I understand that.

"Bobby and I have talked many times since then. It'll be a lot of good talk between fans and media. But when it comes to the football teams that matter in terms of winning or losing, it won't be any effect.''

Petrino went 41-9 at Louisville 2003-2006. He was 4-0 against Kentucky.

"He whooped me up the head pretty good,'' said coach Rich Brooks.

"But we're a different team now than we were when he was coaching at Louisville.''

When Ole Miss visits Fayetteville on Oct. 25, Nutt's return is sure to incite passions. But they will mainly be in the stands.

"When you're on the field,'' Luigs said, "you don't really look at that (visitors') sideline.

"It'll be fun talking to him after the game.''

Petrino is no stranger to challenges. He guided Louisville's upgrade from Conference USA to the Big East. Still, the weekly grind in the SEC is an even bigger upgrade.

"You don't have a game,'' Petrino said, "where you might actually feel like you step on the field and you have better players than the guys across from you.''

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.