Ex-Horseman returns under Air Force banner
Falcons’ defensive end to play against Lobos
There are times where his mind wanders and his peripheral vision expands past the blinders he’s trained to keep.
In those times, reality sets in. What surrounds him is able to soak through that tough exterior and he’s able to see what others take for granted.
An example of it came the afternoon of Sept. 16 while standing on the synthetic turf of Michigan Stadium. The Big House. The home of the Michigan Wolverines, a building that held 111,387 fans the day Air Force visited Ann Arbor.
Hidden under layers of protective padding that makes him look like a monster wrapped in skin-tight armor, Santo Coppola took a few seconds to glance around and take in the scenery.
“During one of those TV timeouts I looked around and was, like, ‘Wow, there are a lot of people in here,’ ” he said. “Bigger than my hometown.” By far. By about 45,000. A senior defensive starter on the
United States Air Force Academy’s football team, the 2013 St. Michael’s graduate is nearing the end of his time at the service academy. He is set to transition into active duty as soon as his academic requirements are fulfilled, launching into a career that could take him virtually anywhere in the world.
Before then, he’ll get one final chance to visit his native state when the Falcons head to Albuquerque on Saturday to face Mountain West Conference rival New Mexico. The game kicks off at 5 p.m. and Coppola is sure to have a few dozen friends and family make the short drive to see him.
His mother, Steph Coppola, said she and her husband travel to every game. That included the Big House where her son had six tackles against the undefeated Wolverines.
He doesn’t get much of a chance to socialize during road trips, so any escape to his favorite Mexican restaurant is out of the question. Saturday is a business trip and Albuquerque just happens to be the destination.
For the season Coppola, has a sack and nine stops, having made the transition from defensive tackle to defensive end after graduation hit the team hard in certain spots. He made the switch to make the team better, and he was recognized by being voted a team captain in the offseason.
The move away from the middle of the line helped him drop 15 to 20 pounds from his 6-foot-4 frame. He tips the scales nowadays at about 265, making him light enough to add speed but bulky enough to avoid getting pushed around.
What time he doesn’t get honing his own craft on the field or in training, he dedicates the rest to his studies and mentoring the younger players.
“Moving to end is a huge difference,” Coppola said, speaking by phone from his Colorado Springs, Colo., campus earlier this week. “It’s one of those prestige positions, I guess, but everyone on this team gets the chance to be the glamour guy at some point.”
When he thinks back to his time in Santa Fe, Coppola admits there are moments where he marvels at the growth he’s undergone since heading north. The rigors of the academics keep him locked away for countless hours, studying relentlessly for a grade that frustratingly comes out as merely average from time to time.
“You can spend hours studying and come out with a C on a test,” he said. “Some might see that as a win but not here. The standards we put on ourselves are high and everything we work for, we put everything into it.”
That commitment has made Coppola that much stronger on and off the academy campus. On the rare occasion he gets to come home, he is able to gain the perspective that is sometimes lost when he’s in the middle of it.
“It has worked out better than I could have ever thought it would have,” he said. “Coming to a service academy forces you to grow up a lot faster than you think it will. I mean, that first year at the prep academy was rough because it teaches you discipline and that every decision you make as a consequence.”
Those decisions can lead some to take a knee during the national anthem, something no member of a service academy would ever do. The Falcons typically remain in the locker room during the pregame presentation of colors, but he said all cadets and active military members are trained to stand at attention and render a salute while in uniform.
The recent trend of kneeling during the song can create mixed emotions. Where Coppola is concerned, it’s actually pretty simple.
“Everyone has the right to choose what they want to do,” he said. “It’s tough to answer. I’ll say I get multiple emotions over it but I do see both sides of the issue. For me, being part of the United States Air Force Academy, there really is no option to sit and I am OK with that.”
And with that, the tunnel vision returns and his focus on his call to duty takes over. The world around him fades into a single purpose that makes him a future officer in the Air Force.
“Things aren’t always going to go according to plan,” he said. “That can happen on any play or in any situation. What we preach here is to not shut down, to adjust to the situation and move on. That’s all I’m trying to do; move ahead.”