Former Oklahoma OL Gabe Ikard Describes Details of Cayden Green's Shocking Departure

A former Oklahoma lineman has shed some light on how another former Oklahoma lineman has shockingly left the team.

Cayden Green’s departure this week rocked the program because it came out of nowhere.

Green, a freshman from Lee’s Summit, MO, came off the bench to help beat Texas, went on to start five games, was named team captain and earned Freshman All-America accolades.

But it was reported on Tuesday that he intended to enter the transfer portal and leave OU — under unprecedented circumstances.

On “The Oklahoma Breakdown Podcast” with Gabe Ikard and Teddy Lehman, Ikard, who played at OU, is a member of the gameday radio crew and is frequently around the program, characterized Green’s decision as a blindside hit.

“Doesn’t sound like any of the coaches had any idea this was coming,” Ikard said. “Doesn’t sound like his teammates knew this was coming.

“There’s definitely something strange here,” Ikard said.

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Asked about Green during a scheduled media session after Tuesday’s practice, senior right guard McKade Mettauer was caught off guard by a question about Green’s departure and said he just thought Green missed practice because of an academic obligation.

“I mean, it’s finals week. I just assumed he was taking a test,” Mettauer said. “But that’s for Coach (Bill Bedenbaugh) to talk about. I haven’t seen him or talked to him either. I don’t really know what ya’ll are talking about.”

Ikard, however, revealed some unseemly details during his podcast.

Ikard said Green and his family met with OU’s NIL collective “and they had some demands … and the collective was willing to meet those demands.”

Ikard said after meeting with head coach Brent Venables, Green went back to the collective and said, “I’m not signing for less than X (undisclosed amount) … and the collective went, ‘OK,’ and discussed it, and they got to the dollar amount he asked for.”

But in the podcast that published on Wednesday, Ikard said while the team was practicing Tuesday afternoon, Green was seen by a team support staffer pushing a cart with his belongings out of Headington Hall – while his teammates were across the street practicing for the Alamo Bowl. Ikard said when the staffer asked Green what was going on, he replied, “You’ll have to talk to my dad.”

“This is how everything was relayed to me (from) people there were heavily involved in these conversations,” Ikard said.

Green told OU Insider’s Parker Thune via text message on Wednesday, “I just did what I felt was best for me, my mental state, and my family.”

On his podcast, Ikard emphasized the family part of it.

“There are other people more responsible for this than Cayden,” Ikard said.

“I promised I would not say the number, so I ain’t saying it. But what OU’s collective offered him, the number he asked for that they got to, the contract with that number on it they sent him, I believe it would quite possibly make him the highest-paid offensive guard in college football next year.”

“It’s a ton of money for one season for an offensive guard,” Ikard said. “Clearly there’s some other things going on here.”

The 6-foot-5, 316-pound Green played in 11 games in 2023, a total of 568 offensive snaps, which ranks 10th on the team. Pro Football Focus assigned him a season overall grade of 53.7, which is considered low, but isn’t bad for a true freshman.

Essentially, Green’s ability to stabilize the left guard position over the second half of the season placed him in the discussion as an anchor for the rebuilding offensive line in 2024 as the Sooners transition to the Southeastern Conference.

“From a football standpoint, this is a significant loss for Oklahoma,” Ikard said. “ … This was a guy I thought was gonna be a leader.

“This is a guy that I thought was gonna be an All-American-level player and maybe an early-round draft pick. And now he’s going somewhere else.”

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