COLUMBIA, Mo. 鈥 Cayden Green saw what happened when he entered the transfer portal.
It was a surprise when, in December of last year, he opted to leave Oklahoma after just one season. As a freshman, the offensive lineman from Lee鈥檚 Summit, Missouri, about 30 minutes southeast of Kansas City, had carved out a starting role that was surprising in its own right. But not long after the season ended, he was looking for a new school.
And then it turned ugly.
Oklahoma fans, evidently peeved at Green鈥檚 departure and further frustrated that he was transferring to Missouri, called him things on X, formerly Twitter, that a newspaper can鈥檛 print. They discovered that Green鈥檚 father owned an insurance agency and , writing things like 鈥渄on鈥檛 trust him鈥 in the comments.
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That drew a rebuke from Reginald Green, Cayden鈥檚 dad, at the time.
鈥淪top it!鈥 he replied to some of the frenzied reviewers. 鈥淒on鈥檛 do this because my son chose to enter the transfer portal in football. You live in (Oklahoma) and have never done business with my office. This is a really bad look for the Oklahoma fan base. Be better.鈥
On the Mizzou end of things, Cayden Green鈥檚 transfer seemed like a much warmer story. Despite choosing a different program out of high school, here was a player electing to return to his home state and reunite with a former teammate on his new offensive line.
Maybe that鈥檚 what helped Green keep a level head amid the unpleasant but unsurprising social media saga.
鈥淎h, yeah, I expected it,鈥 he told the Post-Dispatch of the internet kerfuffle prompted by his transfer. 鈥淚 knew what it was, especially the fact that I didn鈥檛 really tell the full story. It is what it is. At the end of the day, people talking on Twitter is not adding money to their accounts. It鈥檚 not feeding their families, so I don鈥檛 pay attention.鈥
But compartmentalizing what happens on social media can be a challenge for modern college athletes. So how did Green keep from getting caught up in the negativity?
鈥淵ou just get off Twitter,鈥 he said, 鈥渁nd it鈥檚 like it doesn鈥檛 even happen.鈥
Now, fully entrenched in preseason camp and preparation for the 2024 season, the social media antics that surrounded Green鈥檚 arrival in Columbia are almost a punchline 鈥 at least that鈥檚 how Armand Membou, Green鈥檚 high school teammate and a close friend, sees it.
鈥淭he OU fans go crazy about him on Twitter,鈥 Membou said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 funny. It鈥檚 a lot of fun.鈥
Membou is a year ahead of Green, but they spent a significant portion of their runs at Lee鈥檚 Summit North playing together. They stayed in touch when Green went down to join the Sooners, but he kept even Membou in the dark about his plans to transfer.
鈥淗e didn鈥檛 even know I was getting in the portal until right before I hit it,鈥 Green said.
鈥淲hen he hopped in the portal, I couldn鈥檛 even believe it,鈥 Membou said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 still crazy to me that he hopped in. When he committed here, I was so excited and fired up that I was going to be able to play with him.鈥
The duo will line up on opposite halves of the offensive line this season: Membou will hold down his right tackle post, while Green will most likely slot in at left guard. Spring practices saw Green working at left tackle 鈥 he can readily play both 鈥 but the arrival of transfer lineman Marcus Bryant from Southern Methodist shifted Green back to the interior.
Adding Green to a line replacing two departed veterans in Xavier Delgado and Javon Foster means different things to different members of the Mizzou program.
Membou sees it in an interpersonal way.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to increase the chemistry in the O-line,鈥 he said, 鈥渏ust with our connection.鈥
Coach Eli Drinkwitz views Green鈥檚 return to Missouri as a kind of retroactive recruiting win.
鈥淲e recruited Cayden heavily in high school,鈥 Drinkwitz said at Southeastern Conference media days. 鈥淗e entered the transfer portal, he took visits to a couple of different schools and ultimately we were the right fit for him.鈥
And offensive line coach Brandon Jones sees several reasons to be enthused with one of the newest parts of his position group.
鈥淗e鈥檚 been great,鈥 Jones said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 been a good fit for our room. He鈥檚 really bought into the culture, him coming from Oklahoma and having the success that he had, playing Texas and some of those bigger schools. I don鈥檛 think the room and the competition鈥檚 any different than what he was facing. ... I think the world of the kid.鈥