Jacob Copeland, No. 15, emerged from the shadows to score his first college touchdown a week ago against UT Martin. (Photo: Adler Garfield/UAA Communications)
Copeland Seeks to Catch On for Good with Gators
Saturday, September 14, 2019 | Football, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
LEXINGTON, Ky. – If there's one truth in Jacob Copeland's young existence that resonates most when he retreats into his resiliency reservoir, it's that adversity is usually waiting around the corner.
For Copeland, the face of hardship has undergone constant makeovers throughout his life.
"I've done seen a lot of things,'' Copeland said. "That motivated me not to take that route."
What Copeland is talking about has nothing to do with football. Growing up in some of the hardest-scrabbled neighborhoods of Pensacola, Copeland experienced what many of us only read about or see on the evening news.
Drug deals. Shootings. Poverty. The youngest of seven boys on his mom's side, Copeland said four of his brothers were shot growing up. Life was never easy, but on the football field, Copeland found his escape and the kind of success he craved.
A redshirt freshman receiver, Copeland emerged from what has been a muffled 15 months at UF when he had the best game of his college career in last week's victory over UT Martin. Copeland caught three passes for 23 yards and had one carry for 15 yards as he took on a more prominent role following the injury to junior Kadarius Toney.
Jacob Copeland emerged as a potential replacement for injuried Kadarius Toney in Florida's win over UT Martin. (Photo: Kelly Chase/UAA Communications)
His breakout performance prompted Gators fans to wonder if the 6-foot, 192-pound speedster is destined for more action when the ninth-ranked Gators (2-0) face Kentucky (2-0) in their Southeastern Conference opener on Saturday night at Kroger Field.
"I thought he did well,'' UF head coach Dan Mullen said this week. "We'll see as it goes. I think he did a good job when he got the ball in his hands. I was pleased with that."
If you watched the game live or have seen the replays, you saw how teammates reacted when Copeland scored his first college touchdown on a 9-yard slant from quarterback Kyle Trask. The game was out of reach at that point – Copeland's score put Florida up 38-0 on the first play of the fourth quarter – but the Gators' excitement revealed a deeper story.
With high expectations at the start of preseason camp last year, Copeland suffered a knee injury during his first practice. He had dealt with turbulence of all kinds away from the field, but he said a serious injury was a new hurdle. Copeland underwent surgery and then began to work his way back into shape. He finally made his debut in a late-season win over Idaho, returning a kickoff 26 yards and hauling in a 16-yard catch.
Renewed mentally and physically heading into the spring, Copeland started to have problems with a hamstring that kept him off the field for much of spring camp. For the first time in his life, Copeland faced doubts in the one place he always considered his safe haven.
"I never experienced setbacks like that,'' he said of the injuries. "When I first came in, I thought I was going to make an impact and I didn't. That triggered in my mind, 'dang, it's over with for me.' And then I came back and thought I was healed. Got hurt again. I had thoughts like, 'this ball might not be for me.' Sometimes I have my moments. But my receivers group, the quarterbacks, Coach Billy [Gonzalez], they keep my head up."
As a emerging prep standout, Copeland starred at Pensacola Pine Forest High for three seasons before transferring to Escambia, the same school that produced Gators Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith, for his final season. Copeland was nothing short of dynamic, averaging 13.8 yards every time he touched the ball and scoring 29 touchdowns.
As college recruiters flooded his neighborhood, Alabama, Tennessee and Florida were his final three choices.
A young sports reporter for the Pensacola News-Journal, Eric Wallace arrived in town during Copeland's prep career. It didn't take Wallace long to pick up on the hottest local sports story.
"When I got here, he was kind of the talk of the town,'' Wallace said this week.
In Copeland's final high school game, a 44-34 loss to Crestview in the state playoffs in November 2017, he caught a 77-yard touchdown pass, had an interception and almost single-handedly kept Escambia in the game.
Already a top recruit, interest in where Copeland would sign only increased on the streets of his hometown.
"In that Crestview game, he was a one-man joystick,'' Wallace said. "He definitely showed -- if there was any question about him before -- that he was the real deal. At least to me."
Copeland became a national story a few months later when on National Signing Day, with Betty Copeland wearing an Alabama sweatshirt and Tennessee hat, her youngest chose the Gators. Upset, Betty got up and walked away when Jacob announced his decision by putting on a Gators cap. By the time she came back and gave Jacob a hug as tears streamed down his face, the video had gone viral and served as a hot-topic debate on social media.
Copeland didn't realize how big the story had become until later that afternoon when at a local restaurant with his mom and various family members, his phone kept buzzing with calls and social media alerts.
More than a year and a half later, Copeland can now smile when discussing the memorable day.
"She's happy. She's good while I'm here,'' he said. "She wants the best for her kids. She seen the structure that Bama has built up for a lot of years and she's a Bama fan. But at end of day, she knows it's all on me. I know my mom is strong. She got over it."
When he caught his first career touchdown last week, Betty Copeland and other family members were at home in Pensacola watching the game. He heard from them afterward and on the phone could hear they were as excited as he was.
It was a moment Copeland envisioned but didn't know if or when it would arrive.
"When the ball was coming to me, everything else went blank to me,'' Copeland said. "Everything went quiet. I was just focused on the ball. It was amazing seeing all [my teammates] cheering for me."
More than just a touchdown, it was a glimpse of Copeland's potential at a time when the Gators are looking to replace Toney, who is expected to miss at least a couple of games due to a shoulder injury.
The magnitude of the moment for Copeland was not lost on tight end Kyle Pitts, one of the first players to congratulate him. Copeland's work ethic and team-first attitude has made him a favorite in the locker room.
"He's been through a lot, and I think for him to score, it just brought him back to where he was,'' Pitts said. "I was really happy for him."
A prominent storyline all week for beat writers who cover the Gators daily, Copeland's teammates were asked over and over again about Copeland. They heaped praise on him for the way he has handled the difficult start to his college career. The Gators' receiving corps is one of the team's greatest strengths, and if Copeland can crack the rotation regularly with his physical gifts, it's another playmaker they can add to the mix.
There's a reason Copeland was rated the No. 69 overall prospect in the 2018 recruiting class by 247Sports.com, and that's why fans and media are intrigued by the latest developments.
"He definitely has a lot of juice to him," senior receiver Josh Hammond said. "That speed is one thing. That's big with Cope. You saw it with the jet sweep and little plays like that. Those are things that he can take to the house, and you wouldn't think of him because we haven't used him that much."
Most of all, Copeland's resiliency is why he has his teammates' respect. They've seen the work he has put in away from the spotlight to get back in it.
Quarterback Feleipe Franks is convinced the best is yet to come for Copeland if he continues to put in the work.
"It's just more his grit, the way when players get injured and things don't go the way they want, how do they respond? I think that he's responded in all the right ways by continuing to keep his body healthy, continuing to do the right steps to maintain his body," Franks said. "I think he has done a really good job of that."
It wasn't the plan Copeland had in mind when he yanked on that Gators cap and made national news. But it's the hand he was dealt.
Copeland's past prepared him in ways he didn't realize. To fully understand, he had to lose the one thing he had in his corner: his God-given talent on the football field.
"You've got to own up to what you do,'' he said. "Whatever happens, happens. You've got to own up to it and stay motivated it. I know I've got something to fight for. I want to stay motivated and live my dreams. I feel like this is a big opportunity. I feel like this is go-time for me. Hopefully I can do something with it."
