Cayden Green moves to guard, hoping to help OU any way he can

Bill Bedenbaugh called Cayden Green into his office on Monday, Sept. 11. 

The true freshman offensive lineman had no idea why Bedenbaugh wanted to talk to him. Bedenbaugh told him he was moving to left guard ahead of the Tulsa game and there was a chance he 

“I just came in the office and he was like here’s what we’re going to do and I just went to work after that,” Green said Monday. “It was something that coach felt like I could do. I just went and did it.”

Before Saturday, in which he played 32 snaps at left guard, Green had only played guard for three games during his freshman season at Lee’s Summit North High School. 

But OU has struggled at left guard, with Savion Byrd not establishing himself at the position and dealing with an injury on Saturday against Tulsa. It’s unclear how long Byrd might be out, which could mean Green could make his first career start at Cincinnati. 

“We’re going to continue to roll some guys up front,” offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby said of the left guard spot. “We’ve got guys that deserve to play and those guys have played and they’ll continue to.”

Green came to OU as a tackle and was expected to be the future at that position at 6-foot-5, 316 pounds. But due to a lack of depth at guard and Green’s physical ability, he could be the solution at left guard moving forward. 

For him, it’s an adjustment. But he said the move isn’t as difficult as it may appear. 

“I’m a big guy and physical anyways. I like to play physical. I like to finish blocks,” Green said. “So it’s not much different in that aspect. It’s just inside, everything is happening faster and guys are bigger and more physical. That’s the only difference.”

Green’s move to guard tells us two things: OU doesn’t have much faith in its options at left guard whether it’s Byrd or Troy Everett and Bedenbaugh really trusts Green to get the job done. And that means something, as it’s often rare to see a true freshman play for Bedenbaugh. 

“It means a lot kind of getting that head nod from him. It was really cool,” Green said. “But it doesn’t mean anything if I don’t put in that work. I’ve just been working on it and getting better. I think I did alright. There’s a lot I need to get better at from a technical standpoint… Other than that, for only being in there for five days, I think I did alright.

“I want to do whatever I can to help the team.”

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