‘It’s All About Heart’: Parker Robertson Just Thankful for Every Opportunity at Oklahoma State

STILLWATER — Parker Robertson described the hit, you know the one, as “the perfect moment.”

His former Oklahoma State teammate, UCF running back Jaden Nixon, had another view when the two caught up after the game.

“We shook hands, and he was like, ‘dang, why do you have to hit me so hard?’” Robertson said.

Robertson is on an all-time two-week heater, racking up 16 total tackles, 10 solo and four for loss, including the first sack of his career, one forced fumble, an interception and three pass breakups.

“I don’t know what else a kid could dream of making, like every statistical play that there is on the defensive side of the ball,” Robertson said after his performance against Kansas State. “So, I mean, that’s more than a dream, and I’m glad I played like that today.”

When Robertson decided to walk on at Oklahoma State, he wasn’t chasing a dream career, a big game, or even one special moment. He made the choice with the knowledge that he might never see the field at all.

With that mindset, Robertson said he never worried that he wouldn’t get his shot to prove himself the way he has this year in his first and last year as a starter.

“Me getting here was more than I expected to be in the first place,” he said. “So it’s always been saying this is far more than I expected to be, and I’m just grateful to be put in that position. And if it keeps increasing and increases, I just got to say (I’m) grateful for that.”

On Saturday, Robertson will take the field inside Boone Pickens Stadium for the final time. The Senior Day of it all will be emotional, but at least Robertson knows whatever reaction he has won’t be as big as his father’s.

“My dad’s the emotional one,” Robertson said. “When I got the scholarship, he was supposed to come play golf. We were actually playing golf that day. He was supposed to come play with us, but he got the call from OSU first that they were coming to put me on a scholarship, and he couldn’t even go out there and play because he would be so emotional, and he wouldn’t be able to get through the round without crying and telling me that it would happen.”

His father, Craig Robertson, couldn’t argue with anything his son said. Especially since even the memory of that moment from almost 18 months ago brought out at least a few tears.

“I’ve been crying for two weeks, bub,” Craig said on Tuesday afternoon. “Because I was gonna be with them. … After I got the call, I broke down. Because this kid worked for it. I mean, ain’t nobody gave him sh–. To become a walk-on and a special teams player, you think about it. I mean, he made the team by giving 100% every practice on special teams. You know, I was never a special team fan, but I’ve become a big fan of special teams.”

Although Parker Robertson earned his scholarship on special teams, he will end his OSU career as the backbone and face of Oklahoma State’s late-season defensive resurgence. In fact, Parker is poised to finish the season third overall on the team in defensive snaps played, an incredible leap for someone who didn’t earn their first start until the seventh game last season when OSU traveled to then-No. 13 BYU.

Robertson finished that game tied for the lead in tackles and hauled in an interception, but the next week he played a mere four snaps.

“It was hard for him, but, I mean, what part of his journey so far hasn’t been tough,” his older brother Chase Robertson said. “And so it was just one more, one more thing to get through. … He’s never complained. He’s never really worried about those kind of things, the things that me and my dad complain about that we wish he was getting on the field more. You’ll never hear that from him, ever. He just appreciates any kind of opportunity given to him. And is going to go at it 100%.”

In the game at UCF, Chase was surprised to see his brother turn to the sideline and wag his finger after a big tackle.

“He gets up and looks at the sideline and shaking his finger, you know, like that,” Chase said. “That’s new to us because Parker was never really that way. He was the quiet competitor.”

His father said that’s just one more incredible thing about the last two weeks that Parker felt comfortable stepping out of his comfort zone and truly embracing the moment.

Once the season ends, Parker said he hopes to earn a chance to prove he can play at the next level, but the safety knows all of that is anything but guaranteed.

“He kind of took coming into Oklahoma State like that,” his father said. “Because me and him had a long conversation. He could have went and played any Division-II school he wanted to play at. … He’s looking at the NFL the same way. If he gets a shot, he gets a shot. If not, then he can hang his cleats up, and he can move on to his life.”

But that doesn’t mean another football game (think something like the Senior Bowl) or even a workout in front of NFL scouts wouldn’t mean the world to someone who has already beaten so many odds.

“It would mean everything,” Robertson said. “Because it’s always been a dream to first make it to D-I football and then make it through the NFL. So just having any scouts or any of those bowl games, I mean, everybody watches them, so it would mean the world just to get the opportunity to do it.”

First, he hopes to leave BPS a winner one more time following the clash with Iowa State at 11 a.m. on Saturday. Then, once the season is done, Parker can step back into the old familiar shoes of being a long shot, hoping someone gives him a chance to prove them all wrong.

Good thing he never lost the walk-on mentality that helped him get to the point where the NFL is even a discussion.

“Just know that size doesn’t matter,” the 5-11, 185-pound safety said. “It’s all about the heart. I mean, if you give effort, you’re going to make plays either way.”