There are only three words in Xavier Cooper’s about section on his Facebook page: Tacoma, Washington and just beneath that, blessed.

Now a defensive tackle for the Cleveland Browns, Cooper has never taken for granted everything and everyone it took for him to don his Browns jersey every Sunday.

This Sunday, he returns to play his first NFL game in his home state. Eight years after he sat in Marcus Trufant’s suite to watch his first professional football game in then-Quest Field, Cooper will take the field in an NFL uniform in front of about 30 friends and family members, most of whom have not seen him play an NFL game live.

“It’s been a blessing to now be running out of that tunnel as a player getting ready to play against the Seattle Seahawks and not just watching and being a fan,” Cooper said. “Being here is really humbling.”

When he came home from watching the Seahawks play, his mother, Dawn, remembers his awe struck reaction to seeing the scale of a professional football game up close.

“[He couldn’t believe] just how big it was,” Dawn said. “How he couldn’t imagine ever getting the chance to play in such a big venue like that or something like that.”

Now it is Cooper that plays in front of thousands of people every week. He has played in 11 games and recorded 14 tackles and 1.5 sacks, already making a difference as a member of the Browns’ defense. When he took the field for the first time during the game against the Oakland Raiders, his thoughts were once again with his home town.

“It was crazy because I was like, ‘Hey I’m out here now. I’m no longer watching the Oakland Raiders or watching the Cleveland Browns on TV and looking at those guys,” Cooper said. “’I’m one of those guys and I have to represent Washington State [University]. I have to represent Tacoma in the right way.’…It was a lot of emotions running through my head at that point.”

He now lives across the country, hundreds of miles from his family and the community he remains thankful for and humbled by. While the distance makes it difficult for his family to see him play as often as they did when he played for Washington State University, it has not stopped Cooper from being in near constant contact with his family.

His older sister, Keysha, talks with him daily by phone. She refers to him fondly as her “little, big brother.” Despite their frequent contact, it is rare for them to discuss football at all.

“It’s funny because people always ask me what’s going on with football and I always say, ‘You know, we don’t ever talk about football’,” Keysha said. “It doesn’t even feel like he is in the NFL to me. It just feels like he lives in a different state and has a different job…We just talk about normal, everyday activities.”

Cooper’s parents, Dawn and Louis, still live in Tacoma. The YMCA that Cooper grew up frequenting remains. Titlow Park, a waterfront park a few blocks from Cooper’s home where he and Keysha would play for hours, remains. Woodrow Wilson High School, where Cooper played football and basketball, stands against skyline.

“I think what I miss most about Tacoma is the people,” Cooper said. “It’s just the stuff you see on a daily basis in Tacoma, it’s hard for me to explain…I miss waking up in the morning and seeing my Mom’s face, that type of stuff. The same places, I work out at the same place and I get to see my friends. It’s the simple things in life that I miss about Tacoma.”

He is not proud of Tacoma because it is where his beloved family is. He is proud of Tacoma because it is the place that built him.

He sees the qualities of the hard working, blue collar city in himself. His journey to the NFL was not easy. He began playing football his freshman year of high school. While his size and athleticism made him a natural on the field, a learning disability made school difficult. Despite his ease and dominance on the field, he was only offered one scholarship to play college football.

Cooper spent a semester at Tacoma Community College, bolstering his GPA before transferring to WSU in the spring. At WSU he devoted nearly all his time spent outside of the weight room and off the field to pursuing a degree in criminal justice.

Both of Cooper’s parents hold master’s degrees. Keysha also has a degree in sociology. His parents both stressed the importance of an education, and four years later, Cooper is eight credits shy of his degree in Criminal Justice. He is enrolled to complete those credits this spring.

Most of his outreach work in the Tacoma community revolves around the schools. Former teachers ask him to speak to their classes. He recently donated new jerseys for the boys’ varsity basketball team.

“I owe the city a lot because I can be the guy that these young kids look up to and they don’t have to just play football, play sports, but most importantly, they have to go out there and get a degree,” Cooper said.

He may have beaten the odds to become a professional football player, but it was not his talent that forced him into growing up. Like most 24-year-olds just out of college, it was money.

“I remember in college, getting that $1,300 check and I would pay my rent and buy shoes,” Cooper said. “Now I get my money and I’m really frugal. I only buy certain things and there are a lot of free things that the NFL does give you so I take advantage of the free things and the resources I can.”

Cooper now has his own apartment and a new GMC Denali, but he is not too old to enjoy his mom’s cooking or dad’s advice when they visit him in Cleveland.

“We were laughing about how I spent most of my time in the kitchen because he loves my food and he loves when I cook for him,” Dawn said. “He said I should move there because he feels like he does better on the field when I cook for him. That was his last comment, he said, ‘You should just move in here.’”

The last three games will close out his rookie season, and the longest stretch of football he has put his body through. When he does talk about football with his older sister, she reminds him to keep his mind humbled, to remember the word he chose to describe himself.

“Even when he gets frustrated with something, a play he missed on the field or something he messed up on that he saw on film, to just always remember that he is truly blessed. And there are so many people who would kill to be where he’s at.”

With three games left this season, Cooper is close to being able to return to Tacoma for the off season. He will go back to the YMCA to work out. He will go back to his mom’s cooking. He will go back to the community that raised him. This time, he will go back with a greater capacity to give back, to repay a debt he feels that he owes the community.

“Whatever I can do to help out the city of Tacoma, I feel like that’s my role because they helped me get to where I’m at. It means a lot for me to give back,” Cooper said.