Jeremaine Copeland

Jeremaine Copeland

Saskatchewan Roughriders
Date of birth	(1977-02-19) February 19, 1977
Place of birth	Harriman, Tennessee
Career information
CFL status	International
Position(s)	Wide receivers coach
Height	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight	202 lb (92 kg)
College	Tennessee
Career history
As coach
2012	Hamilton Tiger-Cats
2015–present	Saskatchewan Roughriders
As player
2000	Barcelona Dragons
2001	Los Angeles Xtreme
2001–2004	Montreal Alouettes
2005–2009	Calgary Stampeders
2010–2011	Toronto Argonauts
Career highlights and awards
XFL Champion (2001), Grey Cup Champion (2002), (2008)
CFL All-Star	2003, 2004, 2009
CFL East All-Star	2003, 2004
CFL West All-Star	2009
Career stats
Playing stats at CFL.ca

Jeremaine Copeland (born February 19, 1977) is a former professional gridiron football wide receiver who is currently the wide receivers coach for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League. He has played with the Montreal Alouettes, Calgary Stampeders, and Toronto Argonauts, as well as in the XFL and NFL Europe.

College career

Copeland attended the University of Tennessee. While there, he posted 131 receptions for 1,300 yards (9.92 yards per rec. avg.). At Tennessee, he played with Peyton Manning and Jamal Lewis while wearing number six for the Vols.

NFL Europe career

Copeland played a year of NFL Europe football for the Barcelona Dragons. He ended the season with a team leading 74 receptions for 821 yards (11.1 yards per rec. avg.) and six touchdowns.

CFL, NFL, & XFL career

Copeland began his CFL career with the Montreal Alouettes in 2001 and played six games. During that season he also starred at WR with the XFL's champion Los Angeles Xtreme. He was known for his flashy big plays and the famous long skull cap tail hanging out of his helmet during his time with the XFL. After beginning the 2002 season in the Dallas Cowboys' training camp, Copeland returned to the Alouettes and contributed to their Grey Cup championship that year. Copeland picked up CFL and CFLPA all-star honours in 2003 after piling up 99 receptions and 1757 receiving yards. Along with teammate Ben Cahoon, Copeland set a CFL record for most receiving yards by two teammates, amassing 3,318 yards between them. In 2004, Copeland was one of four receivers with the Alouettes to eclipse the 1000-yard receiving mark (the others were Cahoon, Thyron Anderson, and Kwame Cavil), a CFL record which was repeated by the Alouettes the following year.

In 2005, Copeland was lured west to join the Calgary Stampeders after he entered free agency. Although his statistics did not reach the same levels as those achieved with the Alouettes, Copeland and Stampeder teammate Nik Lewis became infamous for their elaborate touchdown celebrations, including a "human bicycle" during the 2005 season, and the "bobsled" at the endzone pylon during the 2006 season. On November 23, 2008, Copeland and teammates of the Calgary Stampeders won the Grey Cup against the hosting Montreal Alouettes, 22-14. In 2009, Copeland enjoyed his best season since 2003 when he recorded 1,235 receiving yards and led the league with 12 receiving touchdowns, earning CFL all-star honours that year.

On February 17, 2010 Copeland was traded to the Toronto Argonauts in exchange for wide receiver P. K. Sam. He was elected as the team's offensive captain, leading an inexperienced receiving corps and being a crutch for inexperienced CFL quarterback Cleo Lemon. With the team, he was reunited with former XFL teammate Noel Prefontaine. On November 3, 2011, he surpassed the 10,000 career receiving yard mark, becoming the 15th CFL player to do so.

On January 25, 2012, Copeland officially retired from the CFL after 11 seasons in professional football.

Coaching career

After announcing his retirement, Copeland was named the wide receivers coach of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, joining former offensive coordinator George Cortez who was now the team's head coach. Following the 2012 season, Copeland left the Tiger-Cats to complete his degree at the University of Tennessee.

On February 20, 2015, the Saskatchewan Roughriders announced that Copeland would be joining the team as their new receivers coach.

CFL Statistics

Receiving			Regular season							Playoffs
Year	Team		Games	No.	Yards	Avg	Long	TD		Games	No.	Yards	Avg	Long	TD
2001	MTL		7	13	182	14.0	26	1
2002	MTL		5	18	352	19.6	41	4		2	5	119	23.8	47	1
2003	MTL		18	99	1757	17.7	57	14		2	14	185	13.2	26	0
2004	MTL		16	83	1154	13.9	42	10		1	7	98	14.0	42	0
2005	CGY		18	64	1211	18.9	70	8		1	4	88	22.0	48	0
2006	CGY		18	54	978	18.1	70	6		1	3	63	21.0	28	0
2007	CGY		18	67	1110	16.6	84	10		1	3	44	14.7	20	0
2008	CGY		18	52	763	14.7	60	7		2	10	96	9.6	29	0
2009	CGY		18	81	1235	15.2	57	12		2	8	93	11.6	19	1
2010	TOR		14	48	639	13.3	50	3		2	11	121	11.0	28	1
2011	TOR		18	43	633	14.7	45	0		Team did not qualify
MTL totals			46	213	3,445	16.2	57	29		5	26	402	15.5	47	1
CGY totals			90	318	5,297	16.7	84	43		7	28	384	13.7	48	1
TOR totals			32	91	1272	14.0	50	3		2	11	121	11.0	28	1
CFL totals			168	622	10,014	16.1	84	75		14	65	907	14.0	48	3

External links

• Toronto Argonauts bio page