Jacob

Copeland

The former top Gator receiver will move over to the Big Ten and play in College Station. Copeland (6'0/202) made his intentions clear weeks prior that he would be transferring, but he finished out the season and played in Florida’s loss to Central Florida catching five passes for 35 yards. The Terrapins could move into the top spot as the best receiving core in the conference adding Copeland to an already stacked lineup that includes Rakim Jarrett and Dontay Demus. In fact, there is already some chatter about this in the Twitterverse, Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy tweeted this Maryland receiving could be the best in the conference, but Ohio State assistant and WR coach Brian Hartline responded to that tweet with a simple “nope.” You gotta love that we’re already seeing this type of talk for the 2022 season and we haven’t even finished this one. Is it September yet?

Billy Napier’s offense took a hit today as Florida’s top receiver has decided to leave the program. Copeland (6'0/203) led the team with 607 receiving yards in an inconsistent passing offense. With his dynamic speed and ability to stretch the field, he should be a hot commodity and will have no problem finding a new program.

Jacob Copeland (6'0/202) had himself a day against the Bulls on Saturday, scoring twice on two long touchdown passes. The first touchdown came on a 75-yard throw from Anthony Richardson in the first quarter, while the second score came with 10:15 to go in the second quarter on a 41-yard pass from Richardson. It was a great day for Copeland, who managed only one catch for 15 yards in Week 1 against Florida Atlantic.

Copeland (6'0/203) has been a consistent presence in the high-powered UF passing attack, catching 23 passes for 435 yards and three touchdowns on the year. His best game came against LSU where he caught a 19-yard touchdown en route to a 123 yard performance versus the Tigers. With Trevon Grime, Kadarius Toney and now Copeland out, The Gators will need to lean on Justin Shorter as their primary outside weapon this Wednesday against Oklahoma.

Copeland and Toney both had significant numbers in this contest with both going over the century mark and scoring touchdowns. Unfortunately for both, it comes in a losing effort. Copeland (6'0/203) scored his third touchdown of the year on a 19-yard scoring connection with Kyle Trask in the second quarter that put the Gators up 17-14. It’s the third touchdown of the year for the redshirt sophomore, and he’ll have a chance to add to that total in the SEC Championship Game against Alabama next Saturday.

Toney, fellow wideouts Jacob Copeland and Trevon Grimes, and defensive end Zachary Carter were not with the team when fall camp began a week ago for personal reasons. All have since joined the team, with Carter saying via social media that he was playing this season “in honor of all COVID-19 fighters and victims.” During his press conference ahead of the start of fall camp, HC Dan Mullen said that he would have no issue with any player that decided to opt out of playing this season. All four players are expected to be key contributors for the Gators this season, with Florida being viewed as a legitimate threat to dethrone Georgia atop the SEC East.

While Mullen did not say who decided not to attend the first day of fall camp, he did confirm that multiple players did not attend. Among those who reportedly sat out Monday’s session were wide receivers Kadarius Toney, Trevon Grimes and Jacob Copeland, and defensive end Zachary Carter. During his press conference on Monday, Mullen said that he would not be surprised if multiple players (and possibly a couple coaches) opted out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 concerns.

Copeland caught 21 passes for 273 yards last year, and while those numbers don’t leap off the page, it’s worth pointing out that he was stuck behind several players in the depth chart that are no longer in Gainesville. "...he has the raw materials to be extremely productive — especially if the offense leans heavily toward the pass like it did last season,” writes Staples. There are still other mouths to be fed in this offense, but don’t be surprised if Copeland does make that big leap in 2020.

The new NCAA rule on college football redshirts could benefit Florida here, as a season of eligibility can be preserved if a player appears in no more than four games. Copeland (6'0/192) has yet to appear in a game this season due to his undisclosed injury. Florida has three regular season games and a bowl game left to play, so appearing in those games would not cost the freshman pass-catcher a full season if he’s inserted into the rotation at wideout.

Copeland (6'0/192) was a four-star signing for Mullen this offseason, and there are expectations he could be an immediate contributor to the passing attack this season. Tough to do when you’re hurt, obviously, and Copeland didn’t play in the opening win against Charleston Southern on Saturday. It sounds like Copeland won’t go again against Kentucky this Saturday, but he could debut the next week against Colorado State on September 15.