Bradley Central's Cole Copeland 'All In' At QB

Set To Lead Bears Into Region 1-6A Badlands

  • Wednesday, August 12, 2015
  • Larry Fleming

(Story has been updated)

CLEVELAND, Tenn. -- Bryce Copeland was a highly successful four-year starting quarterback at Bradley Central from 2009-12.

Brett Standifer followed Copeland under center and was also a four-year starter, three at Soddy-Daisy before transferring to Bradley for his senior season.

In 2014, the Bears’ offensive reins were again in the hands of a Copeland, sophomore Cole Copeland, who was continuing the role for one of the most prominent athletic families in Bradley Central history.

Cole Copeland didn’t disappoint, throwing for 2,290 yards – 51 more than Standifer the year before – and 18 touchdowns (one fewer than Standifer). He rushed for 887 yards and 12 scores, finishing with 3,177 total yards and 30 touchdowns and averaged 288.8 total yards per game.

Copeland, who also excels with coach Chuck Clark’s basketball team, is back for his junior season and hopes to amplify his own reputation among the other Copeland quarterbacks the came before him.

“It’s huge,” Bradley Central coach Damon Floyd said of keeping the successful Copeland lineage going. “Cole thinks this is what he’s supposed to do. But, to Cole it’s not a big deal. It’s just his turn.”

Prior to Cole assuming his spot in the family’s familiar spot on the gridiron, Brian, Chad, Brent and Bryce all played quarterback for the Black and Gold. Brian is Bryce and Cole’s father. Brooke Copeland, one of Bradley Central’s most outstanding basketball players now at the University of Florida, is Bryce and Cole’s sister.

Brian’s father, Kent Copeland, was a star basketball player at Livingston Academy. Bill Collins, Brian’s father-in-law, was a wide receiver with the Bears and wore No. 85, the same number of career touchdown passes Bryce scored amassed in his prep career.

Cole, whose mother, Kim (Collins) was an all-state volleyball and basketball player at East Ridge under Hall of Fame coach Catherine Neely and went on to play hoops at Cleveland State Community College, doesn’t hesitate to get a little outside coaching from his dad, uncles and especially older brother Bryce.

“I’m just trying to do what he did,” Cole said of Bryce’s football heroics. “Obviously, he did pretty well. Any time I can get some constructive criticism from him it’s a great time. He’s been through it all; he’s done what I’m doing. It’s pretty neat to have a brother like that.”

Bryce Copeland put up 8,205 total career yards, 6,421 through the air and 1,784 on the ground. He wound up with the highest total of career yards in Southeast Tennessee. His passing ranks eighth all-time in Tennessee and his all-purpose yards are No. 7 all-time.  

He’s now playing basketball at Lee University.

Oh, yeah. Bryce ranks eighth all-time on the Bradley hoops career scoring list with 1,689 points. Chad Copeland’s 1,939 points are No. 4 on that list.

Brooke Copeland finished her illustrious prep career with 2,232 points, which put her at No. 8 on the Bearettes’ all-time scoring chart, just 19 behind No. 7 Paige Redmon.

“The greatest thing about the Copelands is they’re all competitors,” Floyd said. “I’ve spent a lot of time with them and I played with Brent here (Bradley). He’s one of my best friends.”

Cognizant of his quarterback’s background and knowledge of the game, Floyd turned Copeland loose last season, but the Bears lost five of their first seven games and the offense averaged just 12 points a game.

The Bears picked up steam in the next three contests by scoring 39.3 points per outing and scored 47 in a 12-point loss to Science Hill in the opening round of the state playoffs.

“Bryce was a four-year starter, Brett was a four-year starter and we threw the playbook at Cole like he was a four-year starter and he wasn’t,” Floyd said. “He played well the first three or four games, but he didn’t know exactly what we wanted and that was probably my fault because we expected so much from him.

“Cole is a really good athlete, a great competitor and I think he thought he had to do it all on his own. He later figured out he could take what the defense gave him, that there always was an out and he could let the other guys help him a little bit. The other guys started making plays for him.”

Cole Copeland, due to the competitiveness throughout the Copeland clan, is using 2014 as football experience, a way to turn in even more effective performances for the Bears in his junior season.

That also meant a lot of summer work devoted to the game as well.

He attended two camps at Tennessee, an Elite 11 camp in Atlanta and the Manning Passing Camp in Louisiana.

“The Manning camp was a three-day camp and it was very neat,” Copeland said. “You woke up and it was football all day long. Really, it was football heaven. In all the camps, there was an emphasis on footwork, getting the ball out quicker, reading defenses and doing things that make you a better quarterback.”

Thanks to extensive work in the weight room, Copeland will go into the Bears’ Aug. 21 season opener against rival Walker Valley with an additional 10 to 15 pounds of muscle, Floyd said, and that could have a major impact on his play.

Although Copeland, the District 5-AAA Sophomore of the Year, acknowledged the 11-game season is a tough grind, but didn’t think playing at a lighter weight a year ago effected what he did last year competing in the tough District 5-5A.

“I took some hits, but it never bothered me,” he said. “It’s a long season and football is a war on every play. I think the extra weight will allow me to carry more of the running load.”

Floyd hopes the extra weight will help in preventing an injury to his prized quarterback.

“He stayed healthy last year,” the coach said, “but I think he took some hits his body wasn’t quite ready for. We wanted him to add weight to keep from getting hurt, but he’s not a kid that’s going to run out of bounds. Hopefully, the weight helps him break some tackles and keep plays alive.

The 6-foot-3-inch, 185-pound Copeland and wide receiver Tyler Carpenter are the only two returning offensive starters and a large portion of the lineup may go to sophomores, Floyd said.

Carpenter (6-1, 195), the Bears’ leading receiver a year ago, caught 54 passes for 784 yards and nine touchdowns.

“If I was the defense trying to stop us, (Tyler) is the first person I’m starting with,” Floyd said.

The experience level drops off dramatically after Copeland and Carpenter, though.

“We’re replacing everybody else,” Floyd said. “A lot of guys got some experience last year, a few started more than one game, but they weren’t our normal starters. We’re going to be playing a lot of sophomores. We feel good about them, but they’re still sophomores.”

Floyd is secure in the fact that his quarterback got a full season of game experience last season, a ton of work in summer 7-on-7 competition and a large dose of confidence that can only be beneficial as the Bears gear up for a rugged challenge this season in Region 1-6A that also includes state powers Maryville, Science Hill, Dobyns-Bennett along with Hardin Valley, William Blount, Jefferson County and Bearden.

Copeland is as self-assured as any player or coach at Bradley Central that the Bears can handle what lies ahead.

“I think we’re capable of doing anything we want to do,” he said. “I want to go 15-0 every year, but that doesn’t always happen. You don’t want to set your goals low, so shoot for the stars. You’ll get out of the season what you put into it.”

Cole Copeland is all in. All the time.

(Thursday: Red Bank's Tra Stamper)

(E-mail Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @larryfleming44)

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