Cayden Green is helping Mizzou's O-Line reload
There will be a lot of new faces along the Missouri Tiger offensive line this season.
The Tigers lost longtime stalwart right tackle Armand Membou when he was the No. 7 overall pick in the NFL Draft. They lost one-year starting left tackle Marcus Bryant when he was taken in the seventh round and they lost multi-year starting right guard Cam’Ron Johnson to an un-drafted free agent deal.
But the Tigers do return to key pieces with three-year starting center Connor Tollison and second-year starting left guard Cayden Green.
And now the pair are helping work in a handful of new guys brought in through the transfer portal as the Tigers looked for numerous replacements.
New Faces
“Connor knows what he’s doing at all times,” Green said. “And he helps us all get on the same page. Having a guy like (Dominick Giudice) and Keagen (Trost), they all help us get on the same page now. Super experienced.”
Trost is going into his seventh year of college football and came to the Tigers from Wake Forest. He has seemingly locked up the right tackle spot replacing Membou.
Giudice was the darling of spring camp as he enters his fifth year of college ball. He was lauded for picking up the playbook quickly and handling starting center responsibilities with Tollison still recovering from the injury that ended his season in 2024.
“He’s a natural-born leader,” Green said of Giudice. “You know, we kind of go as he goes. He’s super smart. He knows ball.”
Guidice has been taking the first-team reps at right guard throughout fall camp and seems like the choice to replace Johnson.
Left Tackle Competition
And at left tackle, the Tigers have turned to a competition between returning redshirt junior Jayven Richardson, last year’s backup left tackle, and West Virginia transfer redshirt sophomore Johnny Williams.
“We’ve got two guys that both know what they’re doing, so I know either way it goes, we’re in good hands,” Green said.
Working with both of them through camp, Green said there hasn’t been a missed beat for either.
“We’ve kind of picked up where Marcus (Bryant) left off last year,” Green said.
And while Richardson has been taking most of the first-team reps, the competition is far from decided. Williams has received compliments from the coaching staff and from Green.
“Johnny looks great,” Green said. “He’s real good in pass pro. He’s starting to understand the scheme a lot more than he was in the spring. So, yeah, he just looks night and day better.”
Freshmen
And while the Tigers are working the elder statesmen into the starting group, they are also working in a group of true freshmen who joined the team in 2025.
Henry Fenuku was the lone freshman offensive lineman who early enrolled. And the four-star guard has shifted to center throughout fall camp.
“Henry, he’s got the playbook down a lot more than he had in the spring,” Green said. “Last spring, he showed flashes, but he struggled just because it’s a new playbook. He hadn’t played football for that long either, so he put in a lot of work over the offseason on the playbook. You know, he’s physically gifted. I think it’s just the mental aspect for him and he’s starting to pick up on it.”
The Tigers have also started to get four-star interior lineman Jack Lange, the No. 1 recruit from Missouri in the class of 2025, to work, along with three-star interior lineman Keiton Jones.
“Yeah, they’re some studs,” Green said. “Keiton, he’s just, he’s a freak. He’s strong as an ox, maybe two of them. Jack, he’s got length like nobody else. Yeah, they’re really good.”
Green
But while Green is helping get everyone else up to speed, he’s also continuing to improve himself.
The 6-5, 324-pound junior has a chance to declare for the draft this year and give the Tigers a first-round offensive lineman in two consecutive drafts.
“I’ve been working on my first steps, first and second steps,” Green said. “I feel like that’s where it all starts. I feel like if you can be in a good position from your first and second steps, you’re in a lot better position to win the block.”
But before Green has a chance to show NFL teams what he can do, the Tigers will need him to anchor an offensive line that must come together quickly with a key game in Week 2. There’s no time for the offensive line to find its chemistry during the season.
Luckily, that gelling has already begun.
“The chemistry has kind of come naturally as we hang out together, as we put in work together,” Green said.
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