Mizzou's Cayden Green Details Switch from Guard to Tackle

It came as fairly surprising news that Missouri offensive lineman would be shifting outside to play left tackle, given he played all of his sophomore season with the Tigers at left guard.

But, fortunately for the Tigers, it's a position Green is comfortable playing. He was recruited as a tackle, but kicked inside for his freshman season with the Oklahoma Sooners.

When he first got to Columbia, he immediately played guard. Now, ahead of the 2025-26 season, he's heading back to his first position on the offensive line.

"I played my whole freshman year pretty much at guard. All the valuable reps were at guard," Green said Tuesday. "So, obviously, I was a lot more comfortable inside (during his sophomore season), and it was also a new offense, a new scheme, and even a new conference. So I feel like now I know what to expect, so that'll help me with the transition."

Green has done plenty of flip-flopping of positions throughout his career and continues to handle the changes well.

"I started my freshman year at tackle. I moved to guard. I was there the rest of my freshman year, last year, from here last year," Green said."

The Lee Summit, Missouri, native has now become a player known for his versatility to play multiple positions. This will be something that helps him while attempting to move up to the NFL in the future.

This offseason, he trained at multiple positions in order to be prepared for whatever situations could arise. Despite being expected to play left guard, he made the choice to be prepared to slot in at other spots.

"All summer and spring, I've been working right guard, left tackle and left guard and a little bit of center," Green said.

He has plenty of traits that translate well to playing tackle, which is the main reason he started out there.

Traditionally, teams will look to place their more athletic lineman on the outside. Green is a 6-foot-5, 324-pound player who moves much faster than his size, making him a perfect candidate to kick out. This is one of the things that he believes makes him a viable candidate to play tackle.

"I think my arms are pretty long," Green said. "I like to think I'm pretty athletic. I guess we'll see here in the next few weeks."

While going through this positional transfer, Green has also emerged as an important leader for the Tiger offensive line. He, alongside center Connor Tollison, was one of the two lone offensive linemen named captains for the coming season.

Green holds onto many quality leadership traits that his teammates and coaches have started to notice. The junior now holds onto an important role outside of playing his position, one that's impressed head coach Eli Drinkwitz.

"He has that," Drinkwitz said. "I think it's coming out of him right now with that leadership role put on him, so very excited about these guys."