Randi Mahomes Says Being a 'Young' Mom to Patrick Forced Her to 'Grow Up in a Great Way’ (Exclusive)

"He was my little best friend," the NFL star's mom tells PEOPLE exclusively ahead of his fourth Super Bowl appearance

Before Patrick Mahomes was an NFL star, his mom, Randi Mahomes, was a young mom with a lot on her plate.

Now, she's reflecting on her journey raising the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback ahead of his fourth Super Bowl appearance in an interview with PEOPLE.

"Patrick is my first child, and I grew up with him basically," says Randi, 48. "I had him at a young age, and I don't go out saying that's the best thing to do, but it was the best thing for me just because it made me grow up."

The mother-of-three says she felt directionless just before learning she was pregnant with Patrick in 1995 at age 20. "Sometimes, I look back and I'm like, 'Where would I be if I didn't have him?' Because I wasn't going down a bad road, I just wasn't going on a road," Randi says.

Randi shares Patrick, 28, and Jackson Mahomes, 23, with Pat Mahomes Sr. She is also mom to Mia Randall, 12, from another relationship.

After graduating high school, she moved out of her parents' house and was "kind of living on friends' couches for a few years," she says. But having Patrick "changed" her into "a whole new person."

"It was kind of like flipping a coin."

Randi is the youngest of four children, and her mother, Debbie, was the youngest of 11 kids. "So, I have 50-something first cousins," says Randi. Still, she didn't have any experience raising children until Patrick was born.

Suddenly, "I had someone that needed me," says Randi. "And so, for forever, he was my little best friend. We were together 24/7, and I learned with him."

She continues, "He made me grow up in a good way, in a great way. Being a mother is my favorite thing sometimes, and sometim -

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es it's hard, but it is my favorite thing, and I always say, 'Where would I be without it?' "

Patrick was born in 1995, Jackson in 2000 and Mia in 2011. The age difference was an initial concern for Randi, who worried that Patrick and Mia "wouldn't really know each other" because of the gap, but the mother-of-three says all of her children have fostered "special" relationships with one another."Patrick is always keeping tabs on what Mia's doing, both him and Brittany Mahomes. It's a fun relationship for them to have, and being that I was so nervous they wouldn't know each other, I can say now that they know each other."

Randi adds, "I'll send him clips of her basketball games, and he's like, 'Well, tell me what she scored,' and then he'll ask all about it, and I do that with Jackson and him both."

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And despite years of watching Patrick on the field, Randi says she still gets nervous seeing him play.

"I still get nervous. The gray hair, I tell him, I'm like, 'You're giving me gray hair, and it's not because I'm a grandma now, it's because I'm having to watch you hit by 300 pound guys.' Usually when I'm screaming at the game, it's like, 'Don't hit him. Don't hit him.' "

On Sunday, Randi will be at Allegiant Stadium as Patrick and the Kansas City Chiefs look to defend their title as the NFL champions against the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII. She's, of course, rooting for the Chiefs, but Randi will come away from the game happy regardless of the outcome.

"I get to see all my children together, and I get to see my grandkids, so I'm like, 'I'm winning no matter what.' "

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