The portal gives in unpredictable ways and the portal takes in unpredictable ways.
Oklahoma true freshman offensive lineman Cayden Green is the latest shocking name to announce his departure seemingly out of the blue. Oklahoma media members were watching practice today unable to spot the young standout when they saw the news on social media and reacted accordingly.
Coming out of high school, Green was the 98th player in the country with a grade of .9552 on the 247Sports composite. He committed to the Sooners over offers from Michigan, LSU, Georgia and many more. Michigan was one of his top schools near the end of the recruitment but was spurned after a late Oklahoma push. Now, Michigan and the rest of college football will get a second pass at the promising youngster.
Green started seven games for the Sooners this year as a true freshman, a feat rarely accomplished by first-year players.
Michigan will likely take one or two offensive linemen in the portal this year. The two that should top the list are Chase Bisontis from Texas A&M and Green. Both are true freshmen who were able to get into the starting lineup early and would likely start for Michigan as well.
The Wolverines could lose their top five offensive linemen to the draft this year. LaDarius Henderson, Trevor Keegan, Drake Nugent, Zak Zinter and Karsen Barnhart are approaching the end of their collegiate careers.
Replacing five starters is not easy. One assumes Trente Jones, Giovanni El-Hadi, and Myles Hinton will earn starting spots, but center and right guard are up for grabs.
Green and Bisontis would be the perfect candidates to take over. Both are young and talented and can play either guard or tackle in college and beyond. Look for Michigan to attack both targets heavily, but landing either will be tough.