He played college football for the Pittsburgh Panthers as a defensive end, and was recognized as a three-time consensus All-American.

Green was selected in the first round of the 1981 NFL draft, and played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Miami Dolphins.

Green was part of an elite team that included four future NFL Hall of Fame players: Defensive end Rickey Jackson, Center Russ Grimm, lineman Jimbo Covert and quarterback Dan Marino.

[1] According to USC and Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach John McKay, "Hugh Green is the most productive player at his position I have ever seen in college".

[3] Green's second-place finish in the voting was the best a defensive specialist had ever attained until 1997, when Charles Woodson won the award.

Later in his career he suffered several injuries, including a car accident in the middle of the 1984 season for a fracture near the eye.