Best of the Portal: Oklahoma Gaining Value From Experienced LB T.D. Roof
The Oklahoma Sooners made a number of additions in the transfer portal this offseason. And while a few of those new players were on full display in last month’s spring game, AllSooners is taking a look back at each transfer’s top moments with their former team.
The natural inclination for many when seeing a team bring in the son of a member of the coaching staff is to roll their eyes and assume they are only there because of the name on the back of the jersey.
But, what Oklahoma gained in bringing in senior linebacker T.D. Roof, son of OU defensive coordinator Ted Roof, absolutely shouldn’t go overlooked.
Roof is a football player, through and through, with 45 career games under his belt at Georgia Tech, Indiana and Appalachian State.
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A native of Buford, GA, Roof committed to the Yellow Jackets out of high school as a consensus 3-star recruit in the class of 2017.
His first career tackle came in a neutral-site contest against Tennessee, winding up with 17 total in his true freshman campaign.
But, after just one season with Georgia Tech, he elected to hit the transfer portal - winding up in the Big Ten with Indiana.
Roof had some high-quality moments in his lone season with the Hoosiers, certainly highlighted by a 10-tackle outing in a win against Maryland in November of 2018 - the lone start of the year for him.
But, once again, after just a single season he decided to look for a new home - choosing to join his father at Appalachian State where Ted Roof was the defensive coordinator.
T.D. Roof
Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
After sitting out the 2019 campaign as a second-time transfer, Roof would go on to play 24 games with the Mountaineers over the next two seasons.
While there were some nice moments in 2020, the 2021 season would really be Roof’s breakout season.
The senior would shatter his previous career-high marks picking up 67 total tackles, ten of which coming for loss, and a pair of interceptions.
Following the season, with one year of eligibility left as a graduate transfer, Roof decided to hit the portal one last time to reunite with his father once again at a can't-miss opportunity to play at Oklahoma.
He announced his commitment to the Sooners on January 6.
Now he joins a linebacking room that, while returning many key faces from a year ago, has a lot to prove and is expected to take a serious uptick under new head coach Brent Venables.
While Roof won’t have the expectations of an All-Big 12 player or even someone who will get the lion-share of the snaps - there is more than a little reason to believe he will be an impact player for the Sooners this season.
At the very least, Roof’s experience having played in different leagues and systems will be extremely valuable to a team full of guys acclimating to a lot of new things with a different defensive coaching staff.
While he only has one year in Norman, the well-traveled linebacker appears ready to leave a lasting impact on the Sooners at the dawn of this new era.
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