FRISCO, Texas — It's officially week one for the Dallas Cowboys as the team took the practice field on Monday morning in preparation for their opening game against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday afternoon. It's an exciting week for every player to get going, but there's an added layer of excitement with rookie Cooper Beebe.
After arriving in Frisco in April with no game experience playing at the center position, Beebe has successfully passed a crash course in learning the position in time to not only contribute this season, but to start in game one against one of the best defensive fronts in football.
"I'm ready to go," Beebe said with a big smile. "This has been my lifelong dream, and to know it's six days away, it's kind of surreal. There's so much excitement around it and I just can't wait for this weekend."
The excitement is abundant, but he also knows there will be strong, experienced players on the other side of the line of scrimmage when he takes the field on Sunday afternoon. For him, it's the perfect opportunity to make his first impression as a rookie.
"The Browns have some big, strong dudes," he said. "They got some dudes, there are a lot of veteran guys. It'll be a challenge and it's something I'm looking forward to. I gotta go out there and prove I belong, what better team to do it than the Browns?"
"What a great challenge it's going to be going into the Dawg Pound, their experienced front, they've played a lot of ball. It's going to be a tough challenge. I'm ready for it, I'm excited to show what I can do."
When Beebe first arrived in April, the butterflies were swirling around his NFL opportunity ahead of him. Just four months later, he is settled in – something he attributes to the people around him like Zack Martin, Tyler Smith and Dak Prescott.
"When I first got here, I was super nervous," Beebe said. "I hadn't really played the position. I think I was really timid to not screw up, and now I'm out there playing free. I'm confident…I have a lot of great help around me. If I don't see something the right way, I got dudes that can check me and that gives me the ultimate confidence."
In Prescott's case, it was center Travis Frederick who helped usher him into the league as a rookie starter in 2016 and assisted in making calls at the line. Eight years later, it's Prescott returning the favor to the rookie Beebe.
"We definitely get together a lot," he said. "I think he has a lot of trust in me. The good thing is, he's my ultimate corrector. That's one of the things that gives me confidence. I can go up there, give a point and know I have a check and balance to get us right."
With his parents and his girlfriend in the stands, Beebe will take the field on Sunday with a radiant confidence that stems from him wanting to not only prove himself right, but also the people who have supported him early on.
"I'm gonna go out there and make sure I'm prepared because I know I can't let these dudes down," he said. "I'm gonna go out there and give it everything I got."
