At least in this case, the call to serve one’s country has overpowered the desire to play college football at its highest level.
In mid-December of last year, Derek Green signed with Oklahoma as part of its 2019 recruiting class; Feb. 6, he enrolled in classes at the university. Wednesday, however, Green confirmed to multiple media outlets, including 247Sports.com, that he has decided to leave OU and enlist in the U.S. Navy.
“I don’t want to waste anybody’s time,” Green told the website, “because Oklahoma has a great group of guys on that defense that’s there and coming in and I want them to be successful and they can spend more time developing them while I try to serve my country.”
Green also confirmed that he will also place his name into the NCAA transfer database, although “that’s just in case I want to go back to it later, but as of right now I’m going to serve my country.”
According to the Norman Transcript, “a death in [Green’s] family changed his path” from football to the armed forces.
Green was a consensus three-star signee for the Sooners. He was the only signee listed as a defensive tackle in OU’s class this year.