OXNARD, Calif. -- Cowboys rookie running back Bo Scarbrough can't go anywhere in Alabama without being noticed, not after helping the Tide win two national championships.
Before long, Scarbrough could be hard to miss in Dallas, too, if he continues to build on his strong start in the NFL. At 6-1, 235 pounds, he's certainly easy to spot.
But his mother is another story. She's not so recognizable, which helped her keep a low profile last week while watching her son run the football in a Cowboys uniform for the first time during the preseason opener at San Francisco.
Donetris Scarbrough and her boyfriend watched her son's first preseason game from a bar in Dallas.
"I was standing dead in front of the TV," Donetris said. "I didn't even sit down. I heard other people talking and they didn't know I was his mom. They were saying, 'That kid is tough. I'm glad we have a power running back now.' I didn't say nothing."
Instead, Bo's mom soaked it all in, beaming with pride as Scarbrough led the Cowboys with nine carries for 33 yards. Scarbrough's big moment came midway through the second quarter. He hit the right side, broke a tackle and ran for a 28-yard gain. A few plays later, he capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run.
BO (SCARBROUGH) KNOWS. #DALvsSF pic.twitter.com/TKIXqTHbmE
— NFL (@NFL) August 10, 2018
Ezekiel Elliott, who didn't play, ran down the field to secure the ball to give it to Scarbrough so he can always remember his first NFL touchdown.
But Scarbrough isn't resting on his laurels heading into the Cowboys' second preseason game Saturday against Cincinnati at AT&T Stadium.
Scarbrough said he needs to work more on running with a lower pad level and finishing strong near the sidelines.
"I got some things I need to clean up and come out and get better and fix the mistakes I made," Scarbrough said. "I need to play a little bit better than I did, faster, more physical."
High praise
Scarbrough is Donetris' only child. She raised him as a single mother. But he does have seven half-siblings on his father's side.
Scarbrough grew up in west Alabama in Greene County, the least populous county in the state with about 8,500 people. He eventually moved to Tuscaloosa -- the home of the Tide -- with his mother and became a star high school running back.
As a senior, he transferred to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., and played for former Florida State quarterback Chris Weinke. He rushed for 1,468 yards and 20 touchdowns in 10 games and left high school with some recruiting services labeling him as the "best running back in the country" or the "best athlete in the nation."
Those titles heightened the expectations for Scarbrough, though he never blinked.
"I didn't really look at it as pressure," he said. "You just have to play and set the fact to what you are and what type of player you are."
Growing up, Scarbrough was a big Oklahoma fan because he liked the style of running back Adrian Peterson. His mother said he even had an Oklahoma jacket he'd wear from time to time around Alabama.
"Peterson is a very physical, hard runner, gets his knees up," Scarbrough said. "He plays very hard every down, never satisfied, always wants more."
Origin of 'Bo'
Donetris said no one at Alabama knew Bo's real first name. No one with the Cowboys knows either.
Scarbrough said Bo is a "neighborhood name." Asked for his real first name, Scarbrough quipped, "You'll have to look it up."
His mother wouldn't give it up either.
"I don't think Bo would want me to tell you his first name," she said, laughing.
But here's how Scarbrough became known simply as Bo.
Donetris said Scarbrough's father was a high school running back, and his friends would call him "Kalbo." Once Scarbrough started running circles around defenders on the football field, he was called "Little Kalbo." Eventually, that was shortened to just "Bo."
And it's stuck.
Scarbrough thrived in high school and college despite a slew of injuries that would have derailed many others. As a freshman in high school, he suffered a broken ankle. The next year he tore his ACL. As a junior, a high ankle sprain knocked him out.
At Alabama, he tore his ACL in spring practice and missed the first four games of his freshman year in 2015. The next year he rushed for 812 yards and 11 touchdowns as Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry's backup. But he fractured his right fibula in the national title game, leaving after rushing for 93 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries in the first half against Clemson.
"You just have to overcome adversity and you just have to believe that everything happens for a reason," Scarbrough said. "Maybe I was moving too fast and it was God's plan to slow you down in some type of way. You just have to take responsibility and handle adversity. I don't think God would give you anything that you couldn't handle."
Becoming a pro
All the success at Alabama -- and even now with the Cowboys -- paved the way for fan mail to pour into Donetris' mailbox for her son. She said fans would often write him letters in college after a big game or another injury. He'd sometimes even write back.
Donetris said she still has a "big bag" full of more than 500 letters at her home in Tuscaloosa.
"He was so popular," she said. "We enjoyed the moment."
Scarbrough left Alabama a year early to enter the NFL draft but found himself waiting a long time before the Cowboys drafted him in the seventh round. By the time the Cowboys called, 235 players had been selected.
"You can't get discouraged. The draft is gone," Scarbrough said. "You can't talk about what has already happened."
His mother said the draft was a long three days for her, especially the final Saturday.
"That day wore us out. It was a stressful day," she said. "It was a lot of pacing, and I just didn't want to get him let down. I kept saying in my mind, 'They're going to call him.' I never gave up."
Scarbrough has a clear path to land the Cowboys' No. 3 running back job behind Elliott and Rod Smith. If he makes the final roster, he won't feature prominently in the run game. But he can help himself by contributing on special teams. He said he played on each of Alabama's special teams units at one time or another in college. In the preseason opener, Scarbrough played 12 snaps on special teams.
"Bo has come in and been really impressive," said Will McClay, the Cowboys' vice president of player personnel. "He comes from a big program. He kind of fits what we do. He's a big, hard-running guy. You can see the improvement in him. He's going to be a good player."
Scarbrough's mother won't have to watch her son play on TV on Saturday. Instead, she'll be in the stands for his first home game.
"He'll be looking for me, too," she said. "I'm excited about that, to get my picture and everything."
Staff writers Jon Machota and Chelsea Watkins contributed to this report.
Twitter: @DMN_George