T.D. Roof Has Been Around, But Finishing His Playing Career at Oklahoma is Truly Special

T.D. Roof had just graduated college. His football career was clearly winding down. He wasn’t sure what was next for him.

“Was just really taking a look into my life,” Roof said Monday, “kinda breaking it down — like, am I going to play another year? Am I not?”

Sure, Roof’s dad had just taken a new job at the University of Oklahoma. But the former Appalachian State linebacker didn’t know if that had any meaning for his next step or not.

Then OU head coach Brent Venables called.

“You don't say no to Oklahoma,” Roof said.

And that’s how the Sooners landed their latest linebacker acquisition via the NCAA Transfer Portal. Roof, who played previously at Georgia Tech, Indiana prior to App State, is now a Sooner.

“When Oklahoma calls you up and says, ‘Hey, do you want to come play football for Oklahoma?’ Roof said, “you don't say no.”

T.D. Roof at Appalachian State

Roof is 23 years old. He and his twin brother Mic (pronounced “mick”) are both taking coursework at OU. Their mom also lives in Norman. And their dad, Ted Roof, is Venables’ new defensive coordinator.

The 5-foot-11, 216-pound T.D. Roof said him coming to OU was “between me and Coach V. And then after everything was done, kinda talked to my pops and then he was pumped. Everybody was pumped. So it just worked out great for us.”

T.D. Roof at Indiana

Ted Roof’s nomadic coaching career has taken him to 16 different schools since 1989, from remote outposts to college football meccas. He’s coordinated defenses at 13 of them. He was head coach at Duke, won a national championship at Auburn and also coached at Penn State.

Some of T.D.’s formative years were spent in Auburn, where he got to see the Tigers, led by Gene Chizik and Cam Newton, win the 2010 national title.

T.D. Roof's first spring practice at Oklahoma

“It was unreal,” Roof said. “As a little kid, you got Cam Newton. You got Nick Fairley. You got Josh Bynes. The list goes on and on. Just watching those guys practice and just watching them play and have fun and win, it was just an awesome experience. No words can describe how that would make you feel to go undefeated and obviously win the national championship and know that you put in the work and the grind and that your hard work paid off.”

Roof described his dad as “a personable guy. He likes to have fun. But also when it’s time for business, you need to be locked in. This is how my family makes money. It’s college football. You know what I mean? So you need to be locked in when it’s time to lock in. But he’s also a very personable guy.

T.D. Roof hopes to contribute at Oklahoma in his final season of college football

“As a father, you couldn’t ask for a better one. He’s very supportive of anything me or my brother do. He’s willing to help us as much as he can. He’s got a busy, busy schedule but he always makes time to prioritize and really talk to me and my brother.”

It’s a unique dynamic when Ted has the whistle and T.D. is on the field.

“Just normal to any coach,” T.D. Roof said. “Obviously it's a little different. But once we're between the lines or on the practice field, it's all business. He's there to get me better, so I need to listen to him. That's my role, is to listen to my coaches and do what they tell me to do.”

“It’s special,” Ted Roof said. “But when we’re out there, he’s jersey No. 18, and I’m Coach Roof. He’s always my son. But when he’s on the field, and I’m coaching him, he’s always No. 18. I’m going to coach him hard or harder than I coach anybody else. At the same time, he enjoys that. He wants to be coached hard. ... As far as the opportunity to coach your son at the University of Oklahoma, that’s a blessing. That’s a real blessing.”

T.D. Roof’s playing career has been similar to his dad’s: nomadic. He started out playing for Ted at Georgia Tech, then spent a year at Indiana. The last two years, after redshirting, he was a productive player at Appalachian State. He declined to describe the circumstances of those moves, but now he’s hoping to be a consistent backup and special teams contributor at OU.

Moving around so much as a kid — and later as a player — makes the acclimation process in Norman somewhat “routine,” he said. He didn’t need much time to get comfortable.

“I think I lived in like, nine different states,” Roof said. “Was born in Georgia then went back for high school in Georgia. It was a different experience. But overall as a person, I think it helped me because I got to see a lot of the country that people that don't have to move, they just don't have to experience.

“So experiencing different parts, especially the East Coast — this is the furthest west I've been — but specific parts of the East Coast, it helps you be personable and talk to people, and people from different backgrounds or different parts of the country. And so, I think if anything, it helped me.”

But T.D. Roof says there’s no place like Oklahoma — and particularly the unique experience he’s enjoying.

“It’s really special for me and my family for me to be able to finish my college career with my dad and my brother,” Roof said. “ … So our whole family is in Norman, Oklahoma. So, for us, that’s something that we just don’t get to do a lot. Everybody doesn’t get to live in the same place (as a family). So for us, it’s just very special. It’s truly, truly just an honor to be here. And it’s one of the greatest experiences that I’ve had.”