The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Copeland following grandfather’s lead
Falcons linebacker Brandon Copeland is set to play for his grandfather’s old team.
Roy Hilton played 11 seasons in the NFL (1965-75). Hilton played for Baltimore from 1965-73. He played for the Giants in 1974 and finished his career with the Falcons in 1975.
“Unfortunately, he passed away in 2019,” Copeland said Thursday. “But that’s my hero . ... It’s crazy how life comes full circle in so many different ways.”
Hilton played 12 games and made one start at defensive end as the 1975 Falcons finished 4-10 under coach Marion Campbell.
“He always spoke really highly of his time in Atlanta, and he also spoke highly of his time in the Big Apple,” Copeland said. “That’s what he always called it. So for me, this is an opportunity, as always, to make him proud in what I do, not just on the field, but he was really monumental in terms of making sure that I maximize the platform off the field, help people and create a legacy. He did that in his life, and that is what I’m trying to do.
“So you know I’m extremely excited to be walking in his footsteps, literally at this point.”
Copeland, 29, is 6 feet 3 and 263 pounds and was signed to a one-year contract. Consider him a replacement for backup linebacker Laroy Reynolds, who was not re-signed. Copeland, who was undrafted out of Pennsylvania in 2012, has played in 66 NFL games and made 18 starts. He’s been with Detroit (2015-16), the New York Jets (2018-19) and New England (2020). He was an All-ivy League linebacker in college.
He met Falcons defensive coordinator Dean Pees when he was a rookie with the Baltimore Ravens in 2013 and was with the Titans, working on the scout team, with Falcons coach Arthur Smith in 2013 and 2014.
“It was our first defensive training camp meeting, for me as an undrafted (rookie) out of Penn, switched from hand in the dirt my entire life since fourth guard to (middle) linebacker,” Copeland said. “I was a little nervous.”
He was in the meeting room with future Hall of Famers Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. “I remember when coach Pees came in and addressed the room,” Copeland said. “He said, ‘Listen, you don’t make it in this room unless you’re a dog.’ Like, you can’t step into this room unless you can play football at a high level.”
Copeland wasn’t a first-year wonder. He went through 12 different transactions over two seasons before seeing the field in 2015. He was cut, signed to the practice squad, waived and cut again. He got one of the reserves/futures contracts.
Copeland was not surprised Smith landed the Falcons’ head coaching job.
“I’ve seen how hard he’s worked to get to the point that he is now,” Copeland said. “For me, it’s a great opportunity to be here and go to battle with somebody who I know is willing to put in the dirty work with us.”
Copeland will be a player who will help the new coaching staff lay a new foundation in the locker room. He knows the defense and could be a sounding board for linebackers Deion Jones and Foye Oluokun.
Copeland was not sure of his role on the field. “It’s literally wherever they see me,” Copeland said. “The good thing is that I’m in a position now where coach Pees knows me, coach Smith knows me and (linebackers) coach (Frank) Bush knows me. We were on the Jets together. (Special teams) coach Marquice (Williams) knows me. We were in Detroit for a bit.”
But where will you play? “I’m going in as a blank canvas, training myself to be an extreme weapon, Weapon X, and then going in and just say, ‘Coach, do with me what you would like,’” he said.