\u201cThis community was started by, basically, the domestic workers,\u201d Jerome said. \u201cMy mother was a domestic worker.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_5515-1024x768.jpeg\")
A banner celebrating Super Bowl champion Tariq \u201cRiq\u201d Woolen and New England Patriots player Milton Williams stands along Horne Street in Fort Worth\u2019s Como neighborhood, where community pride has followed the Seahawks cornerback since his childhood. (Matthew Sgroi | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n
His family came from Marshall in East Texas and planted roots in Como, which held through decades of change.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve seen it through the good parts and the bad parts,\u201d Jerome said.<\/p>\n
Now, he believes the neighborhood is moving forward<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cSome people call it gentrification,\u201d he said. \u201cI call it progression.\u201d<\/p>\n In a place that has learned to adapt, he said, kids learn early how to move through the world.<\/p>\n Riq did that long before he became an NFL cornerback, Jerome said.<\/p>\n As a child, Riq played nearly every sport: football, track, basketball, baseball. Jerome introduced him to each with one rule.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce you commit to something, you commit to it fully,\u201d he said. \u201cYou finish what you started.\u201d<\/p>\n Speed came first for Riq. Then instincts. Then discipline, his father said.\u00a0<\/p>\n College \u2014 not the NFL \u2014 was the original goal. Riq attended the University of Texas at San Antonio, where he developed into a pro prospect before graduating and declaring for the NFL draft in 2022.<\/p>\n Even now, after years of coaching neighborhood teams, Jerome measures success differently than many parents chasing their children\u2019s professional dreams.<\/p>\n \u201cI pitch college to kids,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m a realist about it.\u201d<\/p>\n That approach shaped more than one path to football\u2019s biggest stage.<\/p>\n While Riq was growing up, Jerome coached another future NFL standout: Milton Williams, who spent part of his childhood in Como before his family moved to Crowley.<\/p>\n Williams went on to win a Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles last season \u2014 sacking Patrick Mahomes twice and forcing a fumble in their 40-22 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. In March 2025, Williams signed a $104 million contract with the Patriots<\/a>. On Sunday, the two former Como residents stood on opposite sidelines.<\/p>\n On Jerome\u2019s teams, children are expected to name the school they want to attend.<\/p>\n \u201cI want you to come tomorrow and tell me what college you want to go to,\u201d he tells them. \u201cOr you\u2019re gonna have to find somewhere else to play.\u201d<\/p>\n Student first. Athlete second. For Riq, the message stuck.<\/p>\n Woolen earned a scholarship as a wide receiver before switching positions \u2014 a move that helped transform him into one of the NFL\u2019s fastest-rising defensive backs after Seattle selected him in the fifth round of the 2022 draft.<\/p>\n But his father insists the league didn\u2019t change him.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s more mature,\u201d Jerome said. \u201cBut what hasn\u2019t changed is he\u2019s still a humble guy \u2014 just a big kid having fun.\u201d<\/p>\n His mother saw that same man standing on the field in Santa Clara, older and more mature, but not much different from the kid who played pickup games in the Como Elementary schoolyard.<\/p>\n \u201cA dream come true,\u201d Davis said. \u201cI\u2019m just glad I was there to help him celebrate.\u201d<\/p>\n Back home, the reaction rippled quickly through Como \u2014 a neighborhood more accustomed to being discussed for its challenges than its triumphs, Jerome said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis whole experience has been something positive for the community,\u201d he said. \u201cA lot of times people hear bad news. So when it\u2019s some good stuff, we want to be known for that too.\u201d<\/p>\n Riq hasn\u2019t forgotten the place that raised him.<\/p>\n When he returns, his father said, the visits follow a familiar pattern: a stop at Como Elementary, time with neighborhood seniors at the community center, photos with kids who now see a path that may feel distant.<\/p>\n After all, Como\u2019s senior citizens are Riq\u2019s strongest prayer base, Jerome adds.<\/p>\n For young athletes watching from Fort Worth, Jerome hopes the lesson is clear.<\/p>\n \u201cThat you can accomplish your goals,\u201d he said. \u201cIt can be done. It\u2019s not impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n Then he paused.<\/p>\n \u201cBut it\u2019s work,\u201d he added. \u201cIt\u2019s work and a little luck.\u201d<\/p>\n What\u2019s something football fans don\u2019t know about Riq? Something they won\u2019t see during a broadcast tuned in by 125 million people?\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s funny,\u201d Jerome said, smiling. \u201cHe\u2019s a nerd.\u201d<\/p>\n He\u2019s got some youth in him, his father said. Maybe that\u2019s fitting.<\/p>\n Because long before the confetti and the Vince Lombardi Trophy, before the draft cards and the primetime broadcasts, Riq was just a kid from Como, learning resilience in a neighborhood that taught him how to adapt, how to finish and how to belong anywhere.<\/p>\n On the sport\u2019s biggest night, he didn\u2019t just help bring a championship to a franchise.<\/p>\n He carried home \u2014 Fort Worth and Como \u2014 with him.<\/p>\n Before the biggest game of his life, Riq took to social media.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAppreciate all the love and support from my neighborhood Lake Como, Texas and the City of Fort Worth fr!\u201d Riq posted on Facebook<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s a blessing to be able to represent the people where I\u2019m from and my family on one of the biggest stages there is. \ud83d\ude4f\ud83c\udffeOne more to go!\u201d<\/p>\n By the numbers: Riq Woolen<\/p>\n 2025 season<\/p>\n 49 total tackles Super Bowl LX<\/p>\n What\u2019s next?<\/p>\n Woolen completed the four-year rookie contract he signed in 2022 and is eligible for free agency this offseason.<\/p>\n Matthew Sgroi is an education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at matthew.sgroi@fortworthreport.org or @matthewsgroi1<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_5513-1024x768.jpeg\")
Nola Davis wears a custom jacket honoring her son, Seattle Seahawks cornerback and Super Bowl champion Tariq \u201cRiq\u201d Woolen, reflecting the family pride surrounding his victory. (Matthew Sgroi | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n
\n39 solo tackles
\n1 interception
\n1 forced fumble
\n12 passes defended<\/p>\n