Copeland finding his fit with Terps
The Florida transfer meshes in a talented wide receivers room
In 2018, wide receiver Jacob Copeland was thrown into the spotlight before playing a single snap at the college level. During his commitment ceremony at Escambia High School in Pensacola, Florida, when he chose Florida over Alabama and Tennessee, his mother, Betty, promptly walked away from the table in apparent displeasure with her son’s decision. The moment became a viral sensation on social media.
Copeland, who transferred to Maryland after four seasons at Florida, is still remembered for that moment, though he admitted he tries not to think about it. Copeland knows it was just miscommunication between him and his mother, and he leaves it at that.
“There were rumors about certain things, but there was never any bad blood between me and my momma,” he said. “I was raised by my momma in a house with my six brothers. The internet is going to talk, but the inside people know what really went on.”
Even though Copeland, a junior, garnered attention early, he is not the type of person who wants to be the center of it. When he entered the transfer portal in December, he could’ve gone to a school where he would have been a No. 1 wideout. Instead, he came to College Park, hoping to fit in and add to Maryland’s already talented wide receivers room, which has the potential to be one of the best in the Big Ten Conference.
“Why go somewhere and be just the guy?” said Copeland, a former four-star recruit. “I can go somewhere and be with the guys, and when we go against defenses, they’re like, ‘How are we going to pick our poison?’ ”
Copeland had 84 catches for 1,331 yards and nine touchdowns at Florida, including a team-high 642 yards and four touchdowns on 41 receptions in 11 starts last season. His decision to transfer to Maryland went back to his relationship with Mike Locksley, who developed a bond with the wide receiver in high school while the coach was the offensive coordinator at Alabama.
The two developed a father-son type relationship that nearly had the 6-foot-2 wideout join the Crimson Tide. So when Copeland hit the transfer portal, Locksley was the first coach to reach out, and a trip to College Park followed.
“I’m one of those guys that when I recruit, I get really close with the families and the kids to the point that sometimes when we don’t get them, there’s still that relationship,”
Locksley said. “I’ve always been a big fan of Jacob even when he decided not to come to Alabama. I followed him and always been very supportive of him and wished that he had great success.”
Copeland has fit in well since arriving in College Park, though the cold weather has taken some getting used to. The veteran receivers have helped him understand the playbook while he has clicked with redshirt junior quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa.
“Since I came in, [Tagovailoa] has been wanting to work,” he said. “That’s what I like about him.”
Copeland has proven to be a challenge for defensive backs, too, as his explosiveness, physicality and ability to generate yards after the catch has led to some good battles in practice. “He’s like that,” redshirt junior Deonte Banks said.
But Copeland won’t have to do it alone. Rakim Jarrett, Dontay Demus Jr. and Jeshaun Jones already made up a receiving corps capable of being one of the nation’s best, but Copeland knows he can help elevate the group even further.
“That was one of the major things that got me to come here,” Copeland said. “I knew Demus was like that [and] Rak was like that. I knew the rest of them were like that, so I was like, ‘Hey, why not join a special room and make something happen in the Big Ten?’ ”
The potential is there. Jarrett had 62 receptions for 829 yards and five touchdowns in 2021 while Demus totaled 503 yards and led the Big Ten in receiving yards through four games before suffering a season-ending knee injury in a loss to Iowa in early October.
“I think we can be one of the best in the Big Ten, for sure,” Jarrett said. “It’s just based on
the work we do during the offseason.”
Still, what will keep Maryland from meeting its potential is health. Demus is still recovering from his injury, while redshirt senior Jeshaun Jones, who also suffered a season-ending knee injury, has returned to the field. Only time will tell whether both players return to full strength.
But that hasn’t stopped Copeland and wide receiver and passing game coordinator Gunter Brewer from speaking highly of the group.
“It’s a very talented group, and everybody is hungry for the ball,” Brewer said. “They’re very professional in their approach. Some of them are coming off injuries, whether it be minor or major. That’s motivation for them to come back and reestablish themselves at that level and even higher, [and] it’s my job to take them to a different level.”