Cayden Green’s departure a surprise to Oklahoma players
Freshman starting left guard Cayden Green hit the transfer portal Tuesday, which came as news to his Oklahoma teammates after practice.
NORMAN — Less than a week ago, Cayden Green was publicly welcoming Oklahoma’s newest offensive line addition, Michigan State transfer Spencer Brown. On Tuesday, the talented freshman was conspicuously absent from the Sooners’ bowl practice on the fields outside Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
Shortly after 1 p.m., Green was no longer with the program after opting to enter the transfer portal. It was a sudden decision that caught Oklahoma by surprise and further altered the outlook of the Sooners’ offensive line heading into the program’s inaugural SEC season.
“It’s finals week; I just assumed he was taking a test,” senior right guard McKade Mettauer said Tuesday after practice. “But that’s for Coach B (offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh) to talk about. I haven’t seen him or talked to him either, so I don’t know what you are really talking about.”
Mettauer’s comments were echoed by multiple Oklahoma teammates following Tuesday’s practice, as Green’s decision caught many within the program off-guard and came as news to Sooners players as they came off the practice field.
“Honestly, we haven’t heard anything about that, really,” starting quarterback Jackson Arnold said. “That’s for the coaches to say. I don’t — I honestly don’t know anything about that, really.”
Green, a four-star prospect in the 2023 class who was rated as a top-100 recruit in the 247Sports Composite rankings, was expected to be a foundational piece along the offensive line for Oklahoma as it transitions to the SEC. The 6-foot-5, 316-pounder out of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, enrolled early in the spring and quickly earned his way onto the field as a true freshman, eventually taking over the starting job at left guard during the second half of the season.
Green appeared in 11 of Oklahoma’s 12 regular-season games this season, starting the year off as the backup at left tackle behind Stanford transfer Walter Rouse. Early in the season, Green shifted inside to left guard and made four appearances at that position during the first half of the season, including a key role stepping into the lineup during Oklahoma’s thrilling win against Texas.
In the second half of the season, Green started five of the Sooners’ final six games at left guard. He totaled 568 snaps along the line and did not allow a sack across 277 pass-protection opportunities. He was also named a team captain ahead of the BYU game, marking a rare feat for a true freshman at Oklahoma.
His 568 snaps were set to be the most among Oklahoma’s returning offensive linemen heading into 2024 following the departures of Mettauer and left tackle Walter Rouse, who are both out of eligibility; right tackle Tyler Guyton and center Andrew Raym, who both declared for the NFL Draft; and guard Savion Byrd, who hit the transfer portal last week.
Between Green and Jacob Sexton, the sophomore who started the final three games at right tackle, the Sooners appeared to have a promising foundation in the trenches for the future. Now Green is in the portal after a decision that apparently blindsided the program.
“If that happens, I love him.” Mettauer said. “He was like a little brother to me. Hate to see that happen. I don’t believe that’s what has happened because I haven’t seen anything. I treated him like a brother. I don’t want to see him leave this school. I haven’t seen anything. You guys have my head swimming now.”
Wide receiver Jalil Farooq said “there’s no love lost” when players — not just Green, but anyone on the team — decide to enter the transfer portal but added that he believes “if you consider them your brother, I feel like they should just communicate” their intentions at the end of the day.
“People kind of talk about the money aspect (of the transfer portal), and I think how it is right now is insane with everything that’s going on,” linebacker Danny Stutsman said when asked how the team handles the news of departures through the portal. “I don’t think it’s — you know, you guys know how it is; it’s crazy. It’s turning into a full business, which is insane. I think some stuff’s going to have to happen. Everyone’s happy for each other. When a guy enters the portal and wants a better opportunity somewhere else, there’s nothing you can do. We all love each other on this field; we’re not going to bash a teammate. At the end of the day, we break it down with ‘family’ every single time.”
Promising Oklahoma OL Cayden Green enters transfer portal
True freshman offensive lineman Cayden Green has entered the transfer portal.
NORMAN — The Sooners looked different as they were going through practice on Tuesday afternoon to prepare for the Alamo Bowl.
No Jeff Lebby and no Dillon Gabriel were the biggest differences. But as the Sooners returned to the field for the start of bowl practices after a week off, another key player was missing from the action.
True freshman offensive lineman Cayden Green has entered the transfer portal. 247Sports National Writer Matt Zenitz was able to confirm the initial On 3’s Hayes Fawcett report.
The Sooners were fortunate to get linebacker Danny Stutsman and safety Billy Bowman Jr. to return for their senior seasons next season. That pushed the focal point to the offensive, where the five starters from the opening game will all be gone. Green entering the portal will make things tougher. He was an upcoming talent that showed a lot of promise.
Green, the 6-foot-5, 316-pound four-star, first saw action in Oklahoma’s second game in a 66-17 win against Tulsa. There, the longtime offensive tackle played guard after a week’s preparation due to injuries to guys ahead of him. Green played 32 of 68 offensive snaps, which counts as his first action.
Since then, Green had started five of the final six games for the Sooners. Growing up, the offensive lineman out of Lee Summit, Missouri, has always been an Oklahoma fan. In a win against Texas this season, Green played 57 of Oklahoma’s 82 offensive snaps. And he helped an offensive line that paved the way for a season-high 201 rushing yards and limited Texas to only one sack of Gabriel (Texas was averaging 2.8 sacks per game entering the contest).
OU will now have to replace left tackle Walter Rouse, left guard Savion Byrd, center Andrew Raym, right guard McKade Mettauer and right tackle Tyler Guyton.
Rouse and Mettauer are out of eligibility, Byrd entered the portal, Raym and Guyton declared for the NFL Draft. The Sooners coaching staff will have their work cut out for them this offseason.
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