Oklahoma DL Kori Roberson 'Grateful' For Family, Friends After Devastating Tornado

The Feb. 27 storm wrecked his house and took most of his possessions, but he's thankful he, his sister and their dogs are OK, and he appreciates his teammates' immediate response.

NORMAN — All things considered, Kori Roberson considers himself pretty lucky.

The Oklahoma defensive tackle’s home was recently destroyed by a violent tornado, but Roberson is fine, his sister is fine and his dogs are fine.

Even his Playstation 5 was mostly undamaged.

Severe weather wrecked Roberson’s home on Feb. 27. He spoke about the trauma on Tuesday night after the Sooners wrapped up their first spring practice.

“I was at home,” Roberson said. “It was very shocking and very quick, like things are going on right now. And at that time, I'm just trying to get my sister to safety, my three little dogs to safety. That was all that mattered at that point. I didn't really care about the house or anything else because all that could be replaced, but not having a sister or anything can’t.”

On Tuesday, Roberson’s big sis celebrated her 25th birthday. They’ve shared the house for a little over a year, he said.

Kori Roberson

Marcus Stripling via Twitter

“She was here with me before and we decided to have something so (after) we leave, when we come back to see the Sooners play, we can come and just chill in a house that we already own.”

The suddenness of the storm was scary, but they quickly got to a safe place, and took with them their lab, miniature schnauzer and pit bull mix — Zen, Charlie and Yellowman.

Just about everything else was a total loss, Roberson said.

“The only thing that didn't get messed up was my phone and my … PlayStation5,” he said. “Everything else — TV, bed, half my clothes, especially my shoes. Oh man. A lot of my sister's stuff — we had a lot of clothing and especially, we had like six TVs that we had in one room that we bought the night before that. I was very heartbroken.”

The PS5, he said, “got scratched up a little bit. But thank God it turned on. It's still up and working and all. ... I plugged it in, it said P5, 'Oh great God.’ ”

Kori Roberson

Bryan Terry / The Oklahoman-Imagn Content Services, LLC

That evening began a steady and dramatic response — from the community, from the school, the OU athletic department. And especially from his team.

People showed up en masse to help remove debris, clean up, salvage what little they could and just be there for Roberson and his sister.

“That first day, we really couldn't do much because there was so much insulation and things going around the house,” he said, “but my teammates came out that next day right after practice and helped me out tremendously. We cleared the house, swept, sprayed, everything you could think of. I want to thank my teammates and also my coaches again for helping out. That was very — it meant a lot to me. Me and my family.

“Marcus Stripling, Shane Whitter, Key Lawrence, all my defensive buddies, Jordan Kelley. They all came as soon as practice was over, came straight over. They walked like almost half a mile to come to my house; stayed with me all throughout that day. They even brought me food and all sorts of things for my sister and I. It feels good to be loved knowing that you’re loved around.”

Roberson is staying at Sooner Suites for the rest of the semester, or until his house is rebuilt. Late May is the projection, he said.

“They already started building on the house,” he said. “The roof part, mainly, but they've still got to get a little more stuff going on.”

Football can be an emotional respite for Roberson, but he said it also adds to a significant burden.

“I have football and school to worry about,” he said, “but then I've also got to go back and work on the house as well. It's a lot to do, but that's what comes with it, you know? So, not really too much to complain (about) or anything.”

Roberson said he “can’t wait to move back into my own house” and generally feels “grateful” about how things turned out.

“Things are pretty much going pretty good right now,” he said. “I’m thankful and I'm grateful for my teammates and my coaches that supported me and helped me clean up. ... I'm just grateful that I'm OK, my sister's OK and I have people that love me around.”