MANHATTAN, Kan. (K-State Sports) – One of the top interior offensive linemen in the nation, Kansas State senior left guard Cooper Beebe has been named a Walter Camp First Team All-American, the Walter Camp Football Foundation announced Friday night during The Home Depot College Football Awards live on ESPN.
A native of Kansas City, Kansas, Beebe was included on the first of five All-America teams used by the NCAA to select its Consensus All-America teams with the other four – Associated Press, Football Writers Association of America, American Football Coaches Association and Sporting News – being announced next week. Beebe is trying to become the first Wildcat offensive lineman ever and the 12th overall player in school history to be named a Consensus All-American.
Beebe is the first Wildcat to be named a First Team All-American by the Walter Camp Foundation since kick returner Tyler Lockett in 2011 and the first on offense since wide receiver Jordy Nelson in 2007.
Overall, Beebe has landed on four All-America teams this week as he was also named a First Team All-American by CBS Sports, Pro Football Focus and USA TODAY.
With Beebe spearheading the offensive line, the Wildcats enter bowl season ranked 11th nationally and sixth in school history by scoring 37.7 points per game, while their 446.1 total yards per game ranks 23rd in the nation and second in school history. K-State also ranks 14th nationally with 199.7 rushing yards per game, while its 4.86 rushing yards per carry ranks seventh in school history.
Beebe has started 47 career games, ranking fifth among Wildcat offensive linemen since 1990, and he has allowed just one sack among his 1,224 pass blocking snaps since the beginning of his sophomore season in 2021. A 12-game starter this year at left guard, Beebe was also a finalist for the Outland Trophy, one of 16 finalists for the William V. Campbell Trophy – often referred to as the “Academic Heisman” – and a semifinalist for the Lombardi Award.
Kansas State, which was slotted No. 25 in the final College Football Playoff Top 25, takes on No. 18 NC State in the Pop-Tarts Bowl on Thursday, December 28, inside Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. The game, which will be shown nationally on ESPN, kicks off at 4:45 p.m. (CT).