Cooper Beebe returns to Kansas State with prestigious goals after spurning NFL Draft
Cooper Beebe could be at a rookie minicamp right now. He could be learning a new offense with a new football team. He could be preparing for his first season as a professional lineman. And he could be making a lot of money while doing all of those things.
Instead, he chose to stay in school and return to Kansas State for one more season.
Many have wondered why Beebe decided to remain with the Wildcats when most experts projected the 6-foot-4 and 332-pound left guard as a potential selection in the second or third rounds of the 2023 NFL Draft. Most juniors who receive that kind of positive feedback jump at the chance to leave school early.
Not Beebe.
Turns out, it was an easy call for him to make. He still has some big goals to achieve with the Wildcats.
“I haven’t really talked about this a lot, but one of the reasons I came back is because I want to put my name in contention for the K-State Ring of Honor,” Beebe said on Wednesday at a Catbackers event in Salina. “I have high hopes for myself. You see all the signs and stuff at the indoor (practice facility) and I think why can’t that be me? That is one of the things that I want to achieve. I’m trying to be a consensus All-American this year and see if I can put my name in that conversation.”
Those aren’t just big goals. Those are monstrous goals.
The K-State Ring of Honor is reserved for the only the very best football players who have worn the Powercat. There are currently only 20 names in the club, and they include Michael Bishop, Jordy Nelson, Darren Sproles, Martin Gramatica, Terence Newman, Mark Simoneau, Collin Klein and Tyler Lockett.
Simply put: joining the Ring of Honor makes you a K-State legend.
That is what Beebe is aiming for in his final season of college football. It’s not an outlandish goal. Beebe earned first team All-America honors from Sporting News last season, as well as second team honors from the Associated Press and USA Today. He was also named Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year while blocking for Will Howard and Deuce Vaughn.
Another season of strong play would put him in the mix for K-State football immortality.
“Beebe is phenomenal,” K-State offensive coordinator Collin Klein said. “Not just as a player but the continuity in that room and the leadership with the guys. He provides a lot of stability and obviously plays at a high level. We’re glad to have him for another year.”
The Kansas City native means so much to K-State’s offensive line that all four of his fellow starters up front decided to return to college this season for another chance to play alongside him.
Beebe said he was also motivated by the opportunity to run it back with them and to play alongside his younger brother, Camden, who is set to join the roster as a freshman this summer.
No way was he going to pass up all that, even if it meant delaying the start of his professional career and looking into insurance policies should he suffer an injury next season.
“K-State means everything to me,” Beebe said. “It’s given me my platform and it’s given me my education. I just graduated this past weekend. It’s set me up for life. This has become my second home and it’s very important to me.”
Still, it was also motivating for him to watch four of his former K-State teammates get drafted last month. The Kansas City Chiefs selected Felix Anudike-Uzomah in the first round, and Beebe hopes that can be him next year.
Just not until after he strengthens his argument for the K-State Ring of Honor.
“I’m trying to achieve as high (a draft pick) as I can,” Beebe. “We will see what happens, but if I can add another good year like I had last year I think it will set me up for that.”
