He played college football for the Washington State Cougars, and was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the third round of the 2015 NFL draft.

[1][2] His father works for the Port of Tacoma,[1] and was a former NAIA football All-American at Doane College in Crete, Nebraska.

Zachary Smalls, a friend of his father's and a former standout Washington State University football receiver in the 1980s, ran a speed and agility training camp for athletes 12 years old and up.

[2] Initially, he enjoyed AAU basketball[3] and soccer, and was an excellent player due to his size and speed.

[1] Cooper resolved to attend a junior college, until Mike Levenseller, a neighbor and former football coaching assistant at Washington State University (WSU), suggested "gray-shirting"—a process whereby Cooper would enroll at a Washington community college, taking classes that would enable him to enroll at WSU without passing entrance exams.

[3] Cooper subsequently enrolled at Tacoma Community College, which delayed his entry at WSU from September 2010 to January 2011.

[3] He was redshirted at Washington State, attending classes, practicing with the football team, and dressing for play but not competing in games.

He was strongly mentored by Heather Erwin, an academic advisor at WSU who worked extensively with Cooper to ensure that he went to classes, studied hard, discussed assignments with professors, asked for extra credit, and engaged in study habits that met his particular kinesthetic learning needs.

)[3] As a redshirt freshman during the 2011 season, Cooper so impressed coaches with his dedication to practice that he was named an All-Pac-12 Conference honorable mention.

[4] Cooper attended the 2015 NFL Combine, where he helped his stock for the draft[6] by running the 40-yard dash in 4.86 seconds—the fastest for a defensive lineman at the event.