WR Jacob Copeland is not an unknown quantity to the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was signed to the team’s practice squad twice during the 2023 season, so elements of the front office and coaching staff know him. When the team released Denzel Mims, they needed wide receiver reinforcements, so they called upon Copeland.
But who is Copeland? You may know he played his college football for the University of Florida and the University of Maryland, but who is he beyond that? Here are five things you may not know about the Steelers’ thrice-signed wide receiver.
Viral Signing Day
Signing with a Division I Football Subdivision college is a big deal for any player. It’s an emotional moment for not just the player but his entire family. The emotional part was no different for Copeland, but his announcement went viral.
Copeland committed to the University of Florida and his mother, Betty Copeland, walked away from the festivities. According to a feature story from The Diamondback, a student-led newspaper at Maryland, the reason she left was simple.
“Only thing I was angry about was that he didn’t tell me beforehand,” Betty Copeland said. Betty is from Alabama and wanted Jacob to play for the Crimson Tide. He chose differently but did not let her know until he made the change official in front of television cameras. According to Betty, the two patched things up later that day.
Teammates With Van Jefferson Again
Copeland played with fellow Steelers WR Van Jefferson at Florida. Jefferson’s final two seasons overlapped with Copeland’s first two years on campus. Copeland barely saw the field during the 2018 season but credited Jefferson and the other veteran Gators for helping him get right.
“They all kept me motivated because I kept dealing with injuries,” Copeland said, according to the Florida Times-Union after winning the SEC Freshman of the Week award for a three-catch, 89-yard performance in a 38-27 win over South Carolina in 2019 that included a 37-yard touchdown. “They just told me to stay focused, and it’s all gonna play out.”
When Copeland began the process of transferring, which eventually led him to Maryland, Jefferson offered encouragement on Twitter/X.
Go be great brudda!! 💙 https://t.co/Dc95wH8HcH
— Van Jefferson (@VanJefferson12) November 24, 2021
Now, the two are reunited in Pittsburgh.
Four-Star Talent Out Of High School
Copeland was a four-star recruit out of Escambia High School (and previously Pine Forest High School) in Pensacola, Florida. He was recruited by Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, LSU, and Clemson. He was named the Pensacola News-Journal Offensive Player of the Year after a dominant senior season that saw him haul in 45 catches for 1,010 yards and ten touchdowns while also returning ten punts for 333 yards and three touchdowns.
Copeland follows in the footsteps of other Escambia players like Pro Football Hall of Fame RB Emmitt Smith and Alabama Crimson Tide star RB (and former NFL first-round pick) Trent Richardson.
Saved By His Youth Football Coach
Copeland grew up in a rough part of Pensacola, where he was in danger of falling into a cycle of drugs and violence. Per that interview with the Diamondback, Copeland saw gun violence up close and personal at the age of eight when one of his older half-brothers was shot three times, and another six bullets entered the house where he was playing video games. His half-brother survived, but the incident stuck with Copeland and motivated him to get out.
That’s where Trampas Miller and the Miller family come into play. Miller was Copeland’s youth football coach, and Miller’s son T.J. became one of Copeland’s friends. At the age of 12, Miller and his wife, Pamela, opened the doors to their home with Betty Copeland’s permission to Jacob. He moved in and lived with them through the rest of high school while still maintaining a relationship with his mother and brothers.
Steeler Depot’s own Melanie Friedlander was able to talk to Copeland at the 2023 Shrine Bowl and the topic of the Miller family came up.
Like he was my pops. Like to this day, that’s my pop, like that’s my dad. Like everybody else knows, he’s my dad. His wife is my second mom. So, that’s my family and I’ve got the keys to the house, I’ve got a code to the house. I’ve got a whole room at the house. That’s really my family. I been knowing them six I was 6 years old and I’m 23 years old now. And until this day they’ve always been with me regardless of no matter what I needed. Whatever I need, I can call them. Whenever I’m in trouble, or anything, even though I’ve never been in no trouble, whenever I’m in trouble and I call him, he’s gonna be on the way no matter what. Wherever I’m at, he’s going to go on that plane.
Copeland’s father passed away when he was 13, and Miller helped support Copeland through that and the other struggles he faced.
Using The Recruiting Trail To Prop Up Others
When we think of college recruiting, we think about top-tier players going through meetings and visits with potential colleges. It’s very focused on the athlete and his family. However, Copeland used that opportunity to talk about other players in the area. According to Brian Achatz of the Pensacola News-Journal, Copeland spoke about other players to potential coaches to help spread the spotlight.
According to Achatz, Copeland talked up West Florida High School WR Keyshawn Helton during his own recruiting process, and that helped lead to Helton’s first Power-Five offers from schools like Tennessee and Florida State. Helton eventually signed with Florida State before transferring to the University of Cincinnati after suffering an injury in 2022 that kept him from playing in 2023.
Copeland also helped get a younger teammate at Escambia to get noticed in Frank Peasant. Achatz detailed how Copeland received a phone call from Tennessee’s then-head coach, Jeremy Pruitt, while hanging out with Peasant. According to Achatz, the conversation was barely underway when Copeland asked Pruitt, “Why haven’t you offered Frank yet?” That offer came within the hour.
Peasant did not end up joining Tennessee. Instead, he signed with Middle Tennessee State.
