It is darn near impossible for me to adequately communicate how stunning a development this is.
I've known this family for almost three years and become quite close with them; I would love a firsthand explanation just as much as everyone else. But what I can tell you all for now is that this was done in complete isolation, and that the Greens have been unresponsive to quite literally everyone throughout this ordeal. They will not communicate with anyone at OU. They will not communicate with anyone from the Lee's Summit North football contingent. I exchanged a few texts with Cayden this afternoon (the details of which I won't reveal out of respect for him), but he stopped responding at a certain point. No one else has been able to reach any member of the family.
It has already been reported elsewhere that Green met with Brent Venables and Bill Bedenbaugh over the weekend, and that is true. At the time, there was nothing to worry about and no inkling that Green was considering leaving Oklahoma. Every member of the team, players and coaches alike, found out that Green was portal-bound when practice ended on Tuesday.
I spoke at length with a member of Green's high school coaching staff. The LSN crew found out when everyone else did, and has had as much luck as anyone else in attempting to establish contact with the family. That particular coach remarked to me, "We don't really check up on Cayden all that often, because we don't have to. He loves Oklahoma. Doesn't just like it, loves it. Of all our guys that would have switched up like this for whatever reason, I'd have thought Cayden was just about last on that list."
Meanwhile, Green's former head coach at LSN, ex-Oklahoma running back Jamar Mozee, told me that he also hasn't received an explanation as to how things turned sour for Green at OU. Mozee has been in touch with the Oklahoma staff today about the situation, but much like the rest of the outside world, he has not been able to get in touch with Green or his parents.
Folks, this kid was born in Oklahoma, grew up a diehard Sooner fan and never seriously considered committing anywhere else. He had been an outspoken peer recruiter for portal players and high school prospects alike. He'd worn OU on his sleeve from the day he committed, and become the first true freshman in history to serve as a game captain. The fact that he's leaving OU at all, let alone the fact that he's leaving with such apparent disregard for courtesy on the way out, is truly astonishing. With regard to such a shocking portal entry at OU, one source said, "You could have given me ninety-nine guesses, and I wouldn't have landed on Cayden." Another said, "Something like this, it almost makes you lose faith in people."
I'm trying to reserve judgment here on the factors that played into this decision, but it's hard to lend the benefit of the doubt in that capacity when there is utter radio silence from Green's camp. That silence speaks volumes, regardless of his true intent or actual motive.
Here's what it comes down to: either 1) another school coaxed Green away from Oklahoma with a prodigious amount of money, which is the consensus belief among sources I've spoken with, or 2) there is an entirely different side of the story that has yet gone untold. I would love for the latter to be true, and for there to be a rational explanation for the things that have transpired today. I'm hoping I can eventually get some semblance of an explanation from the Green family. But as of right now, the silence remains unbroken.
More to follow as we glean additional info.
