When Joe Green transferred to Columbia from San Diego State University last year, all he asked for was a chance to compete.

“He didn’t want to be promised anything,” quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator Ryan Larsen said.

Competing for the starting job was not an option for Green as a first-year at San Diego State. That season, Green, who was a two-star recruit for the high school class of 2019, fractured his collarbone in a preseason practice. The injury initially healed itself, but Green broke it again soon after, forcing him to get season-ending surgery and redshirt his first-year season.

By the time spring ball rolled around, the coaching staff at San Diego State had drastically changed. Rocky Long—the head coach who recruited Green out of high school—retired in January 2020, a new offensive coordinator was hired, and Blane Morgan left his role as San Diego State quarterbacks coach to become the head coach at Lamar University.

The world had changed, too. Midway through spring training, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, sending Green back home to Sammamish, Washington. This time off gave Green the opportunity to reflect on his long-term goals and, as he put it, “think bigger than football.” That April, Green entered the transfer portal.

In high school, Green was a highly sought-after recruit, receiving numerous Division I offers. Among the schools that had extended him an offer was Columbia. At the time, he had considered choosing an Ivy League school but wound up committing to the Aztecs.

“As a 17-year-old kid, I didn’t really know exactly what I wanted fully at that point,” Green said.

A year into college, his priorities had changed. Though he was set to receive a scholarship offer to play for Washington State University, Green decided he wanted to join the Ivy League. More specifically, he wanted to go to Columbia—one of the schools he had turned down less than two years earlier. All he hoped was that there was still a spot for him.

Green had spoken with the Lions’ coaching staff on the phone before, but had never been to campus or met them in person. Still, a relationship between Green and head coach Al Bagnoli already existed. He reached out to Bagnoli and his staff, telling them that if they had room for him, he would not seek out other schools. And although he was not promised a starting spot, in May 2020, Green transferred to Columbia.

“I just wanted the full experience,” he said. “Columbia offers a great football experience and a great academic experience, second to none.”

Green, whose father worked as a trader for Jefferies & Co., was also attracted by Columbia’s location in the world’s largest finance hub. Green wants to work in the finance industry, and, he said, “Columbia gives me a great opportunity to do that.”

With classes fully online during the 2020-21 academic year, Green completed his first semester at Columbia from his home in Washington. He decided to take the spring semester off to keep his standing as an academic sophomore, giving himself the opportunity to play three seasons with the Light Blue.

He used the time at home to improve his football form with the Seattle Seahawks, Green’s local NFL team. The six-foot-four, 215-pound quarterback trained with pro-athlete trainer Tracy Ford at Ford Sports Performance in Bellevue, Washington. Ford trains several former and current Seattle Seahawks—including Bobby Wagner, DK Metcalf, KJ Wright, Richard Sherman, and Josh Gordon—as well as other NFL players.

One day, when Seahawks Pro Bowler Russell Wilson was out of town, Ford reached out to Green and asked if he could fill in for the Super Bowl champion at training sessions to throw to some of the receivers Ford was training, including Metcalf and the Chicago Bears’ Damiere Byrd. At first, Green only went in a couple of times per week to throw at training. Soon, Ford invited Green to play in seven-on-seven scrimmages, giving him an opportunity to compete against some of the NFL’s biggest stars.

“It was pretty cool to see how those guys trained,” Green said. “Those guys are pros from the time they get on the field.”

Green was not just befriending Super Bowl champions, though. He was also doing his own training with Ford, which helped his confidence in his game grow.

“I don’t think there’s throws I can make now that I couldn’t make freshman year, but I think there’s just confidence with it,” Green said.

His confidence has shown out nicely this season. On Sept. 18, Green started Columbia’s season opener against Marist College. In his first game since high school, he completed 12 of 19 attempts for 152 yards and a 69-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Ernest Robertson en route to a 37-14 Lion victory. Against Georgetown University on Saturday, he went an efficient 11-for-16 on pass attempts.

Throughout the season so far, Green has demonstrated the power of his arm, which is the “number one” strength in his game, according to Larsen. In addition to his 69-yard touchdown pass in the opener, Green completed a 46-yard bomb to sophomore wide receiver Wills Meyer on Saturday.

The ability to complete such deep passes does not only depend on arm talent; it also requires a certain level of chemistry between Green and his pass-catchers. Despite the fact that Green has only been in New York since the summer, he has made it a priority to develop relationships with his teammates, which has thoroughly impressed Larsen and the coaching staff.

“He wasn’t just focusing on a small little group,” Larsen said. “He really was branching out and developing those relationships.”

Green’s efforts have certainly made a difference.

“A big thing about [the] wide receiver-QB relationship is just trusting one another, trusting that the receiver’s gonna be in the right place, trusting that the ball’s gonna be in the right place,” Robertson said. “I think that’s something [Joe and I] grew over preseason and prior.”

Due to the strength of Columbia’s running game, Green has not had many opportunities to demonstrate his throwing abilities. However, this has not stopped him from showcasing his decision-making skills. Through two games, Green has not turned the ball over once.

“That ‘Joe Cool’ mentality is what we jokingly say,” Larsen said. “He’s very level-headed, very even-keeled. … I think his teammates really gravitate towards that, which is pretty cool.”

While Green’s role as the team’s primary decision-maker with the ball has been a major factor in the Lions’ early success, he is quick to give credit to his teammates.

“We built continuity with the receivers, the offensive line played great, and the biggest thing is when you have a run game that’s really working, it makes my job very easy distributing the ball to the playmakers,” he said.

As for his goals for the rest of the season, Green is keeping things simple: “I just want to win.”

“That’s how quarterbacks are judged—by wins and losses.”

Green will look to materialize that ambition this Saturday as the 2-0 Lions travel to New Jersey to take on Princeton for its Ivy League opener. Columbia will be tested by the Tigers, who have outscored opponents 95-0 in their first two games this season. Kickoff will begin at 1 p.m.