STILLWATER, Okla. -- At the age of 10, Vincent Taylor and his older brother finally got the new bunk beds they had been longing for.
Taylor, however, only got to sleep in the bed a few nights. And almost every other earthly possession he had, he lost forever.
Days after the bunk beds arrived, Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, destroying his home and turning his world upside down.
“I lost everything," Taylor said. "I had to start over.
"And that really made me who I am today.”
Today, Taylor is Oklahoma State’s standout defensive tackle, who has carved out a name by blocking extra points and dishing out option laterals that might impress Tommie Frazier.