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Editor's note: J.C. Copeland's hometown has been corrected to LaGrange, Ga.
It’s safe to say J.C. Copeland appreciates the violent nature of football.
“Relentless. Pain. Fire,” Tennessee’s newest commitment said when asked to describe his game. “Trying to go kill somebody every play.”
Copeland’s sudden pledge Tuesday to play for the Vols was somewhat surprising. Many thought the 6-foot-2, 240-pound defensive end/linebacker from Troup County High School in La Grange, Ga., was leaning toward committing to Auburn.
Yet UT won out, partially because of its coaching staff and its NFL background — a common draw among high school prospects.
“My dream is to play in the NFL but at the same time I want to get a good education,” said Copeland. “Playing in front of 105,000 fans sounds good, too.”
Neyland Stadium’s appeal not withstanding, the abruptness of Copeland’s decision also was surprising.
“It was a hard decision I had to make,” said Copeland, who was recruited by UT coach Lance Thompson. “I was going to commit later on in the season … but my coaches got with me and told me it was the best decision I’ve got right now.”
Copeland said he is interested in a school that is close enough to his family that they can visit regularly. UT again fit the bill.
“That was very important to me,” Copeland said.
A pair of nearby schools declined to offer Copeland a scholarship: Georgia and Georgia Tech.
“They say I’m too short,” Copeland said, referring to the Bulldogs’ coaches. “That really makes me mad, but at the same time it motivates me to be a better player.”
Copeland also had scholarship offers from South Carolina, Ole Miss, South Florida, Louisville, Maryland and Duke among others.
All of those schools lacked star safety Eric Berry, who continues to help UT’s program even in the off-season.
“One thing that really made me choose them was Eric Berry,” Copeland said. “I love him to death.”
Despite his affinity for Berry, don’t expect Copeland to be star struck by college football players, especially if they’re above him on the depth chart.
“I’m happy for anybody to have success,” Copeland said. “But if you’re in my position in front of me, I’m going to try to take it. I’m going to bring it to the table.”
Copeland also declared he wouldn’t slack off just because he’s punched his UT ticket.
“Just because I committed, I’m not going to get restless like some people I know,” Copeland said. “I’m going to still play 100 percent on the field and in the classroom and do my thing, period.”
Likely a defensive end in college given his body frame, Copeland said he plans to focus on improving his pass rushing in the year before he enrolls at UT.
“Other than that,” Copeland said, “I’m going to work hard at everything else I do: my relentlessness, getting to the ball, trying to knock someone’s head off.”
Josh Ward contributed to this report. He can be heard on WNML weekdays from noon to 3 p.m.
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Comments » 111
trooper4prezz writes:
first
ETSU_Vol writes:
looks like coach O is doing his job! now we need to rake in the O lineman to match it!
BigOrangeJeff writes:
Coach Kiff scoring early and often
rclarkfork#639958 writes:
Great job
Jamey1210 writes:
How about some more info. It is like the guy that just posts first as fast as he can and then comes back and types what he wants to say. Funny how GVX works. They got a story and was so afraid that someone would beat them to the punch the just post it then go and find out what year he grads.
smokeysal22 writes:
TN wasnt even on his Rivals list, awesome job!!!!
hotrodvol writes:
No doubt our D-line class will be one of the best in the country. Last year we had the best RB class, one of the best DB classes, and it's looking good on the D-line now.
GreerVol22 writes:
sham wow!!!
hotrodvol writes:
6'2" 240lbs. 4 65 40 that's great speed.
http://rivals100.rivals.com/viewprosp...
Volunatic writes:
GO VOLS!!!
Great getting some depth in the DL. We still need DTs, though.
volster21 writes:
what bout dem vols!!!
Adamkg12 writes:
Go Vols keep getting em. Talk about inconsistancy though........ Rivals has him as a 4 star while Scout has him as a 1 star?????
dwilds22 writes:
1 star DE ranking
quick step with strong motor, but needs help getting of blocks!
Coach O will coach this kid up...he looks like a hoss!
dwilds22 writes:
1 star DE position rating
big boy, fast off ball with good motor....needs work getting off blocks.
Coach O will coach this kid up!
I tried to post this earlier but didnt see it!
TaintBuster69 writes:
You cant coach 4.65 speed....Coach O will beef him up, work on his technique and let him wreak havoc on the end...great pickup....with his speed he could even play linebacker..
ColeTrickle writes:
My thoughts exactly. he is s good size to play inside LB. with 4.6 speed he could be the signature drop back middle LB in the tamapa 2/cover 2.
PepperGrinder (Inactive) writes:
Maybe they are looking at Scout.com. He is 1 star there and 4 on Rivals.
sampears writes:
Let me speak for DC gator when I say Kiffin sucks, he gets players no one else wants, Meyer is God and Tebow his Goddess!
boro_vol writes:
Lance Thompson recruited him. Nice job, coach! Check this link:
http://highschool.rivals.com/viewpros...
ETSU_Vol writes:
yeah i figured it wasnt coach O himself. but i just meant that im willing to bet that he was a big reason why he committed to us just because of the fact that he will be his main coach as a D lineman so he is gonna have to like him if he is gonna play for us
StroVol writes:
Wow. Too bad they won't be able to blame it on Fulmer. But "Florida" will blame it on Kiffin.
tdforvols writes:
Marc-Ash.....
Thanks, Much more information in your post than the actual article! lol
old_number1 writes:
Hey, the article I read said only two schollys to be taken. Is that what your referring to? BTW, good first name (add 'us'). Mine too.
Agee_Vols_82 writes:
Orange Swarm
Reel 'em in!!!!!
golfballs03 writes:
It seems like we can have our pick of defensive lineman. This is bringing back old school Tennessee football. This comittment kind of surprises me. I wonder how this will impact Corey Lemonier. Aside from Jaques Smith, he seems like the big time recruit at DE we had a great chance at landing. Corey Miller, and wasn't there just an article on GVX about Dominque Easley? I wish we could sign them all.
Waldorf writes:
I wish we could return to the late 90s when we were 3 deep at every position on the D-line. Don't know if one stud D-lineman signing has the same affect as a stud QB signing since most udnerstand you want to roatate several into the gaem anyway.
IamScaredOfTrees writes:
If we keep kicking kids off the team, we can sign them all :)
ColeTrickle writes:
thats funny right there! USC will be bottom tier of the SEC east right above Kentucky and Vandy.
Landing this kid is really good news boys and girls! That is 2 solid defensive ends and a freak O nature of a tackle in Broussard that we have landed. The Dline is coming together very early, and this is great news for Vol fans. Can you say D-line U? Tennessee is the #1 school that the best d-line talent will want to come to, mark it down!
kabzs writes:
Dear Mr. Copeland; Welcome to the Big Orange Nation. Enjoy you work outs as you earn your National Championship ring in 2013.
RTR writes:
We only signed 27 players and have already made alot of room for them. A couple will not make the grades I'm sure. As far as the loss of scholarships, it will not set us back at all. I can promise that. Especially after back to back number one classes. It will be nothing more than a slap on the wrist.
RTR writes:
What is intense about losing two schollys over two years?? Thats not a big deal at all, no matter how you spin it.
RTR writes:
I'm sure the penalities wont be enforced until 2010. I could be wrong but that makes sense.
RTR writes:
And besides Marc, that is only a blog. Nothing to get excited or upset about.
gwbask writes:
I don't care what kind of spin you put on it, a loss of scholarships will always hurt somewhere or at some position. Plus it denies a some player who wants to go to Bama a chance of being on their team. Yeah, scholarships losses will effect more than meets the eye.
ColeTrickle writes:
probation for 2 years is nothing to shrug off either. no bowl games, no BCS bid, etc.
loss schollys will hurt Bama, no matter what a Bama fan says, loss scholarships always hurt a team.
gwbask writes:
Great to get this young man. Defenses win Championships!
RTR writes:
Tell that to Oklahoma. It did not hurt them too bad. It will not or can not hurt us as much as you want it too. We will still have great recruiting classes.
RTR writes:
Where are you getting this no bowl or no bcs bid. There is no chance of that. This is good news to me. Will not bother us one bit. I don't see how it could. Oh no we will have 83 schollys and not 85. Big deal.
RTR writes:
The word I have been hearing is that the football program will be fine but some of the other programs might suffer.
RTR writes:
I stopped worrying about this a long time ago.
2 scholarships lost is not great, and will really have no impact.
Other programs that have been on probation have faired well...Ohio State and most recently Oklahoma who won the Big 12 and was in the NCG.
Now, if you want to believe the tin-foil hat wearing conspiracy theorists on the AU forums, they expect the death penalty and that we pay ALL of our recruits.
I go over there when I need a good laugh.
RTR writes:
The only thing I have been hearing is that the other programs involved will suffer more than the football team. We did suspend these players and they were reinstated by the NCAA. I hope there will be no other penalities but I am not too worried about it either way. How you doing today?
RTR writes:
Well it is annoying when you have USC, who really is cheating and they are worried about us and textbooks.
Saban would kill any booster who tried to ruin what he is building. I am not too worried about them digging deeper, but there always could be something. This is the SEC after all.
What was the incident last year you speak of?
RTR writes:
The thing that most concerns me is the five year repeat violator period starts to run again.
RTR writes:
Yes I have heard the FBI was investigating a boosters car dealerships but the NCAA was not there, nor would they have that kind of authority. It has something to do with taxes. The barners have been screaming this for over a year now though. I do not know much about and I dont think anyone does. But I dont see it coming back to hurt Bama.
It is a beautiful day. I played Golf this morning and it was awsome.
RTR writes:
I guess I just misunderstood your comment. I thought you said second in as many years. Anyway, it is hard to overcome your past, especially if you are a successful program that everyone wants to beat.
Oh trust me, I threw up in my mouth when I first heard about it. They have a history of being unfair with us and handing down unprecedented sanctions on us, but still I dont think they could on this matter.
dvhill100 writes:
Bama987 called it. He said it would be minimal impact.
dvhill100 writes:
Were you 987 in a previous life? If so, you called it. I thought they would use a bigger hammer, but you were right.
RTR writes:
Maybe because we are your biggest rival. Or maybe because it's the offseason. IDK
RTR writes:
Nope I am my own man.
rockytopatl writes:
That's the way breaking news works, bub. You file what you know and then you go and do a lot more reporting and much later you file your comprehensive story. Otherwise, you make a much bigger fool of yourself.
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