4-star OT Cayden Green excited to be a part of Oklahoma's next chapter

Lee’s Summit (Mo.) Lee’s Summit North four-star offensive tackle Cayden Green has recently been able to “breath a sigh of relief” after announcing his commitment to Oklahoma. But he’s already hard at work talking about the Sooners with uncommitted recruits including Kissimmee (Fla.) Osceola four-star defensive lineman Derrick LeBlanc, Kansas City (Mo.) North Kansas City four-star defensive lineman Edric Hill and Converse (Tex.) Judson four-star wide receiver Anthony Evans.

Green tells them about the quality of the people in Norman and the genuineness of Oklahoma’s staff. It’s all part of his message’s overarching theme.

“There’s only one Oklahoma. Why wouldn’t you want to come play here?” Green told On3. “On top of us going into (the) SEC, you get to play in the best conference in college football. You can’t lose.”

Green was one of the most sought-after offensive lineman in the country as the No. 71 overall prospect and No. 7 offensive lineman in the 2023 On3 Consensus. He paid close attention to the Sooners during his recruiting process, including when Lincoln Riley decided to leave for USC. His first question after Riley’s departure was whether longtime offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh would stay with Oklahoma.

Once Green found out Bedenbaugh was, he knew the Sooners’ new staff led by head coach Brent Venables had a shot for his commitment.

“(Bedenbaugh) is the best offensive line teacher in college football,” Green said. “I built a relationship with him throughout the recruiting process.”

Reflecting on Oklahoma under Riley and Venables, Green said he likes “the new staff better than the old one.” Part of that has to do with Venables and offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby. Venables previously led some of the top defenses in the nation at Clemson, while Lebby orchestrated high-scoring offenses at Ole Miss and UCF.

Green is excited to eventually work with both coaches when he arrives in Norman. He believes their past successes on both sides of the ball will have Oklahoma well-positioned when it enters the SEC by 2025.

“Coach Lebby, he averaged like 40 points (at) Ole Miss a game,” Green said. “Coach Venables, obviously, he’s a defensive mastermind. I think that helps us a lot going into the SEC.”