STILLWATER — Parker Robertson was ready to walk away from football.

He had been an accomplished high school player at Dallas Christian, but thought it might be time to leave the game behind.

His older brother, Chase, had recently graduated from Oklahoma State, and Parker considered following his brother’s footsteps.

“He graduated from here and told me about the great atmosphere, the loyal and true,” Robertson said of his brother’s advice. “He told me it was a great school to go to, and I liked it.

“I wasn’t gonna play football at all, I was just gonna go to school.”

Then in the middle of Robertson’s senior year at Dallas Christian, Oklahoma State offered a roster spot as a preferred walk-on, and he realized he could have the best of both worlds.

“I was like, alright I’ll go continue playing,” he said. “Now we’re three years in,” he said with a smile. “It was a good choice.”

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A redshirt sophomore, Robertson has appeared in every game, totaling seven tackles with a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. He jumped on a muffed punt that helped spark OSU’s fourth-quarter rally at West Virginia last Saturday.

And he’ll be back in position when the Cowboys host Cincinnati for homecoming at 7 p.m. Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium.

“He’s a really, really good special teams player,” OSU coach Mike Gundy said. “We have a good walk-on program, which we have for a long time. They do a good job of taking care of them, and then we fund them through NIL differently than other schools.

“He’s been awesome this year. He’s on all the units. He’s a guy you can put in and do anything.”

In high school, he was a do-it-all player. As a senior, he had more than 500 receiving yards, over 50 tackles, multiple interceptions and led the team as a return man.

His Swiss Army knife value has now applied to OSU’s special teams work, and he has made an occasional appearance at safety on defense.

“That’s the definition of a Cowboy right there,” fellow safety Kendal Daniels said. “Loyal and true. He works hard, he comes to work every day. He’s the definition of what we wanna be on this team. Every single play, you watch him, he’s going 100 miles per hour.”

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Gundy stresses the value of special teams, so that players understand their usage there is as important as what offensive and defensive players are doing. Each snap is an opportunity to help the team.

“Parker really embodies that,” senior cornerback Korie Black said. “If we need him for anything — offense, defense, anything — he’s the most reliable. That’s what we love about him.”

Robertson humbly says he was simply in the “right place at the right time” for his recovery on Saturday, which came early in the fourth quarter with the Cowboys trailing 24-20. Moments later, Ollie Gordon II scored a touchdown and the Cowboys never trailed again.

“It’s been really cool being able to participate and play and have a role on the team and know that I’m counted on,” Robertson said. “Oklahoma State’s known for their walk-ons, so it’s really cool to be a walk-on that gets to play a little bit and has a role.

We just keep playing more and more, and hopefully one day we earn a scholarship. For now, just keep on playing.”

Scott Wright covers Oklahoma State athletics for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Scott? He can be reached at swright@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @ScottWrightOK. Sign up for the Oklahoma State Cowboys newsletter to access more OSU coverage. Support Scott’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com or by using the link at the top of this page.

Oklahoma State vs. Cincinnati

KICKOFF: 7 p.m. Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater (ESPN2)

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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State football walk-on Parker Robertson is Swiss Army knife