National Football League

Draft Diary: Washington State DT Xavier Cooper tracks path to NFL (Part 1)

Published Feb. 15, 2015 8:12 p.m. ET

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Xavier Cooper played defensive tackle at Washington State for three years. Cooper, who is originally from Tacoma, Wash. made himself eligible for the 2015 NFL Draft. He teamed up with FOX Sports to do a draft diary. Cooper will take you through the process of training for the NFL Combine, his pro day and anticipation for draft day.

CARLSBAD, Calif. -- Preparing for the NFL Draft has been a blessing. I'm training with some of the best prospects in the country at EXOS. It's really cool to see how my skills match up next to theirs.

First and foremost, I'm a competitor. I love to push myself past my limits. In this environment, I've been able to do just that.

Since being here, I have cleaned up some eating habits and feel very lean at 298 pounds. I usually play at this weight, but I've added some lean muscle while losing some body fat in the right areas.

I cut out the red meat and usually stick with chicken and vegetables. On top of that, I'm replacing most of my starches with vegetables.

The training has been second to none. My job on the field is to get to the quarterback and I do that with an explosive first step. To play this game, you have to be explosive. The staff here gives us what it takes to be successful and I feel like I have elevated my game.

I understand a lot of people don't know about me and that I'm kind of the quiet sleeper at my position, but I can't wait to get to Indianapolis for the NFL Combine to show people who I am.

I have chosen to embrace this process. It can be a grind, but I'll only go through this once in my life so I'm making the most of each day. Actually, this is my first time in California. I'm originally from Tacoma, Washington, which is about 30 minutes south of Seattle.

Football is something I'm very passionate about. I love this game, but I didn't begin playing until I was in high school. When I was growing up I played soccer. That was my first sport until about 13. That's when I started playing basketball. I played in AAU and then in high school.

I first put the pads on my freshman year at Woodrow Wilson. The school has sent eight guys to the pros including Desmond, Marcus and Isaiah Trufant. Originally, I was a tight end and an offensive lineman. On the last game of the season of my freshman season, my coach Jon Harkness -- who was also one of my teachers -- told me he wanted me to go rush the passer. We were playing our rival so I was down to do anything to help the team. I finished that game with three sacks and the next season they moved me to the defensive line full time.

I had a pretty productive high school career, but a lot of big-time schools shied away from me because of my academics. When I was a freshman in high school, I was diagnosed with a learning disability. When a kid gets diagnosed with something like that, it hurts your ego a little bit. The perception is that I didn't get it done in the classroom because I wasn't capable. The truth is I didn't do the things I needed to do during my freshman through junior years. When colleges came around, it was almost too late for me. I feel like it was fate that I had the right people at Wilson to help me with where I'm at. I chose that this wasn't going to define me and I have overcome those obstacles.

When I got to college, the transition was rough. I greyshirted my first year at Wazzu and took classes at a community college. After some time I was finally able to see the field as a redshirt freshman. I'm only eight credits away from graduating so I feel like I overcame that. It's something that never affected my play or ability to study the game.

Now that the Combine is finally here, I'm looking forward to proving myself. I'm ready to give teams a good feel for who I am, that I can communicate and that I have good character.

At the end of the day, if a team is going to invest in me, I want them to know that it's going to be worth it.

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