 Copeland with theCalgary Stampeders in 2007 | |
| Profile | |
|---|---|
| Position | Wide receiver |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1977-02-19)February 19, 1977 (age 48) Harriman, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Weight | 202 lb (92 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College | Tennessee |
| Career history | |
Playing | |
| 2000 | Barcelona Dragons |
| 2001 | Los Angeles Xtreme |
| 2001–2004 | Montreal Alouettes |
| 2005–2009 | Calgary Stampeders |
| 2010–2011 | Toronto Argonauts |
Coaching | |
| 2012 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats |
| 2015 | Saskatchewan Roughriders |
| Awards and highlights | |
| Stats at CFL.ca (archive) | |
Canadian Football Hall of Fame (Class of 2025) | |
Jeremaine Copeland (born February 19, 1977) is an American former professionalfootballwide receiver. He played with theMontreal Alouettes,Calgary Stampeders, andToronto Argonauts of theCanadian Football League (CFL) as well as in theXFL andNFL Europe. He was inducted into theCanadian Football Hall of Fame in 2025.
Copeland was born inHarriman, Tennessee. He would attendHarriman High School, where he played on the Blue Devilsfootball team. While at Harriman, Copeland played at both running back and wide receiver.[1]
Copeland attended theUniversity of Tennessee, where he played under head coachPhillip Fulmer from the 1995 season to the 1998 season.[2][3][4]
As a freshman with the Volunteers, Copeland played as a running back some. He recorded 14 rushes for 73 yards and two touchdowns on the season for the 11–1 Volunteers.[2][5]
As a sophomore with the Volunteers, Copeland played both at running back and wide receiver. He recorded 17 rushes for 72 yards and two touchdowns. In addition, he had 16 receptions for 191 yards for the 10–2 Volunteers.[2][6]
As a junior with the Volunteers, Copeland played at wide receiver. He recorded 58 receptions for 732 yards and nine touchdowns. In addition, he returned seven punts for the 11–2 Volunteers.[2][7]
In the 1998 season, Copeland and the Volunteers had a very successful season.[8] The team won the National Championship overFlorida State in theFiesta Bowl.[9] In the 23–16 victory, Copeland had one reception for 15 yards.[10] The National Championship was Copeland's last collegiate game. On the season, he recorded 27 receptions for 383 yards and one touchdown.[2]
Copeland played a year ofNFL Europe football for theBarcelona Dragons.[11] He ended the season with a team leading 74 receptions for 821 yards, for an 11.1 yards per reception average, and six touchdowns.[12]
Copeland began his CFL career with theMontreal Alouettes in2001 and played six games.[13] During that season, he played at wide receiver with theXFL's championLos Angeles Xtreme.[14] He scored a 19-yard receiving touchdown in the championship game.[15] After beginning the2002 season in theDallas Cowboys' training camp,[16] Copeland returned to the Alouettes and contributed to theirGrey Cup championship thatyear.[17] Copeland picked up CFL all-star honours in 2003 after piling up 99 receptions and 1,757 receiving yards.[18][19] Along with teammate slotbackBen Cahoon, Copeland set a CFL record for most receiving yards by two teammates, amassing 3,318 yards between them.[20][21] In 2004, Copeland was one of four receivers with the Alouettes to eclipse the 1,000-yard receiving mark (the others were Cahoon, Thyron Anderson, andKwame Cavil).[22]
In2005, Copeland was lured west to join theCalgary Stampeders after he entered free agency.[23] Although his statistics did not reach the same levels as those achieved with the Alouettes, Copeland became infamous for their elaborate touchdown celebrations, including a "human bicycle" during the2005 season,[13] and the "bobsled" at the endzone pylon during the 2006 season.[24] On November 23, 2008, Copeland and teammates of the Calgary Stampeders won theGrey Cup against the hosting Montreal Alouettes, 22–14.[25] In2009, 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.[26][19]
On February 17, 2010, Copeland was traded to theToronto Argonauts in exchange for wide receiverP. K. Sam.[27] He was elected as the team's offensive captain, leading an inexperienced receiving corps and being a crutch for inexperienced CFL quarterbackCleo Lemon.[28] On November 3, 2011, he surpassed the 10,000 career receiving yards mark, becoming the 15th CFL player to reach the milestone.[29][30]
On January 25, 2012, Copeland officially retired from the CFL after 11 seasons in professional football.[31][32]
Copeland was announced as a member of theCanadian Football Hall of Fame 2025 class on June 12, 2025.[33]
After announcing his retirement from professional football, Copeland was named thewide receivers coach of theHamilton Tiger-Cats, joining formeroffensive coordinatorGeorge Cortez who was the team'shead coach at the time.[34] Following the 2012 season, Copeland left the Tiger-Cats to complete his degree at theUniversity of Tennessee.[35]
On February 20, 2015, theSaskatchewan Roughriders announced that Copeland would be their new receivers coach.[35][36]
| 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 | 1,757 | 17.7 | 57 | 14 | 2 | 14 | 185 | 13.2 | 26 | 0 | ||
| 2004 | MTL | 16 | 83 | 1,154 | 13.9 | 42 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 98 | 14.0 | 42 | 0 | ||
| 2005 | CGY | 18 | 64 | 1,211 | 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 | 1,110 | 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 | 1,235 | 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 | 1,272 | 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 | |||