Copeland is insane in his highlight film against Georgia 3A high school players... but can he do the same thing at the next level? Here's a highlight clip showing him blowing by Div 1 prospects that are trying to block him at the Tennessee camp. At the 2:30 mark... AMP: DL dominate at UT camp - Rivals.com Video Scout.com Southeastern Expert Chad Simmons agrees...about Copeland’s quickness off the football. “His first step is very, very quick,” Simmons said. “He has great anticipation and he gets off the football extremely well.” Simmons got the opportunity to watch Copeland on three different occasions in person, not just on film. “Every time I have seen him, he is always the first man off the football,” Simmons explains. “He is the type player that doesn’t slow down once he puts the pads on. He plays hard every down, his motor never stops, he is always chasing the ball until the whistle is blown." Scout.com: Copeland loves being explosive off the ball That same article points out that he wanted to stay in-state and be a Bulldog: "I always thought I would be a Georgia Bulldog,” Copeland said. “But they told me I’m too short." ... and that “Georgia and Florida were all concerned about my height, that’s why they aren’t offering me,” Copeland explained. His mean streak is obvious in his high school film, and his high school coach said: "He has a mean streak." Think he'll be extra-mean when playing Florida and Georgia because they basically insulted him by telling him he was too short to play ball for them? :wave:
It seems his height and overall size is the reason for a lower rating. If he were playing at DE I could see that as a factor but at DT I don't see that as a problem. He is going to have to put on some pounds if he is going to be an every down DT though and hopefully maintain that amazing speed.
FYI, he was 277lbs when he came in for a visit 2 weeks ago and his HS coach expects him to arrive at LSU at around 290.
Yes Ego will be the question and I think he ends up at DE. One of our selling points was that Pep was moving to DT so our DE depth chart was more attractive.
Copeland had 27 sacks as a senior (12 as a junior). That's pretty insane. Compare to other signees: Justin Maclin -- ? as a senior (19 as a junior) JR Ferguson -- 12 sacks as a senior (14 as a junior) Kendrick Adams -- 10.5 sacks this past season Jordan Allen -- 3 sacks as a senior (9 as a junior) Luke Muncie -- 3 sacks as a senior
I second that. He said he felt he was turned down by other programs because of his height. Perhaps his listed height is generous and he is short for a DE. To be honest I didn't think he could put on that much weight this fast. He was only listed at 245 and that looked about right in his videos. To think he could jump all the way up to 290 this quickly without getting fat is hard to believe.
