NFL rookie credits mom with helping him train for 1st game

By Yi-Jin Yu

Dallas Cowboys center Cooper Beebe is crediting his mom Tamara Beebe for helping him train for the Cowboys' first game of the season on Sept. 8, where they defeated the Cleveland Browns 33-17.

The NFL rookie's father, Tom Beebe, captured home video of the mother-son duo practicing in their backyard as Cooper Beebe snapped a football back to his mom. Tom Beebe shared the clip on X, in July but it resurfaced and went viral in light of Cooper Beebe's NFL debut.

Courtesy of Thomas Beebe

Tom Beebe captured a video clip of his son Cooper Beebe, a center for the Dallas Cowboys, practicing with his wife Tamara Beebe.

Tamara Beebe, a mom of four, told "Good Morning America" she noticed her third son was practicing in the backyard of their Kansas City, Kansas, home when she volunteered to help him.

"I was just being a mom out there helping him," the 54-year-old recalled of the "great experience," adding that it was "a lot of fun" and she "learned a lot" about her son's position as an offensive lineman.

Beebe, who was an offensive lineman for the Kansas State Wildcats, was drafted by the Cowboys as their no. 73 pick earlier this year, something his mom described as "surreal."

Jason Miller/Getty Images

Cooper Beebe #56 of the Dallas Cowboys lines up over the ball in the first quarter of the game against the Cleveland Browns at Cleveland Browns Stadium on Sept. 8, 2024, in Cleveland, Ohio.

"I think every mom has a hope that their son goes to the NFL someday because that's their dream," Tamara Beebe said. "To be honest, it still seems a little surreal. I see him out there, but it's like, 'Wow, he's really here.'"

The 23-year-old comes from an athletic family, as all the Beebe boys have played sports, including older brother Colton Beebe, who was a tight end for the University of Minnesota and younger brother Camden Beebe, who now is also a Kansas State offensive lineman.

"As a mom, watching all my boys and just seeing them do the thing they love was so satisfying," Tamara Beebe said. "Looking back at it, I wouldn't change a thing."

Of Cooper's rising stardom, Tamara Beebe said she and the Beebes are simply "super proud."

"We are so super proud of him. He has worked so hard and honestly, probably all moms and dads say that because it's true. I mean, you got to work hard to get to that level and we're so proud of the dedication."