Through his first two seasons of college football, Cayden Green was surrounded on the offensive line by veterans.
In his freshman season at Oklahoma, the left guard had mutli-year starting senior left tackle Walter Rouse to his left and multi-year starting senior center Andrew Raym to his right.
Then as a sophomore, he came to Missouri and had multi-year starting left tackle Marcus Bryant to his left (though in his first year starting for the Tigers) and third-year senior starting center Connor Tollison to his right.
But as he worked through spring ball this season, Bryant was off to train for the NFL Draft and Tollison was recovering from injury. Leaving Green as the elder statesman on a line looking at a lot of turnover.
“I think my biggest point of emphasis is getting the guys, like, acclimated,” Green said. “Trying to introduce them to what we do around here, trying to introduce them to the playbook, trying to help them understand things. You know, with Connor (Tollison) gone, Dom (Giudice) he’s done a great job. Tristan (Wilson) has done a great job. But you know, there are some things that we have to work on from a schematic standpoint, and I just try to help out with that.”
Tollison is expected to remain the starting center after returning from his injury suffered last season, so Green won’t be all on his own, but with three open spots on a line that just produced two NFL Draft picks, there are big shoes Green is trying to help new players fill.
“We brought in a bunch of great dudes on and off the field,” Green said. “So, very excited to see what Dom and everybody else can do this season.”
One of those draft picks the Tigers are looking to replace this season is right tackle Armand Membou, who was taken No. 7 overall in the NFL Draft. Green and Membou have a long history together, both playing high school ball Lee’s Summit North.
“It’s dope man,” Green said of watching Membou's rise. “You know, growing up with, not quite growing up with him, but we played high school ball together and we were friends all through high school. And he is just, night and day different, he looks night and day different from when he was 180 pounds sophomore year (of high school).”
But now Membou and Bryant are gone, as is right guard Cam’Ron Johnson and the Tigers brought in a handful of possible offensive linemen to compete for the roles, while also developing younger players Missouri got through the high school ranks, as well as early enrollee Henry Fenuku who was working behind Green as a backup left guard through spring practice.
“He’s a freak athlete,” Green said of Fenuku. “You know, he’s 280 pounds on a good day, soaking wet, and he’s holding his own. So, you know, once he gains weight and once he starts to develop from a schematic standpoint, opportunities are through the roof for him. So, I’m excited to see what he does in the next few years.”
There was also talk through the offseason of the possibility of moving the two-year left guard out to left tackle as the 6-foot-5, 320-pound junior could anchor the edge of the Tiger offensive line. But through spring ball, he stayed at left guard, where he said his confidence is only growing.
“My confidence is very high right now,” Green said. “I’m just trying to, you know, continue to get my football IQ up. But you know, I can play outside, too. It don’t matter.”
Green said the main focus for him recently has been his hand placement in pass protection and getting better and better with his footwork as he looks to make a junior-year jump the same way his longtime teammate Membou did.
“Really using my hands in pass pro has been a big point of emphasis for me,” Green said. "You know, that’s something I struggled with last year. My first steps, I can be in better positions when I’m getting on blocks. Those have been my two biggest points of emphasis and I think I improved on that.”
As he keeps improving himself and working toward a professional career, Green said he is thankful for getting to play alongside so many long-tenured college players through his first two seasons. But now it’s his job to pass on those same lessons he was taught as he takes the mantle of veteran lineman.
“My college career, I’ve been blessed to be around vets,” Green said. “So like Connor, coming in, he had a bunch of starts. Even my freshman year, Andrew Raym, he had a ton of starts, Walter Rouse had a ton of starts, Marcus (Bryant) had a ton of starts. So they kind of helped elevate me every year. So you know, God’s blessed me to be around vets and I think that worked in my benefit.”
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