GAINESVILLE, Fla. — It’s a hot afternoon in late July.  The Florida Gators are about to start fall camp.  Jacob Copeland walks out of the tunnel into an empty Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.  He stops and looks out onto the field.  He knows he’s spent too long watching.  It’s finally his time to play.  

“I’ve had my ups and downs,” Copeland said.  “Sometimes when I wasn’t being able to play, I’d get down on myself and be like is this a thing for me?”

Copeland was one of the highest rated recruits in Florida’s 2018 class.  He had dreams of playing right away, but ended up getting buried for three years in a deep receiver rotation.

“It took time to get here.  It took learning the process,” Copeland said.

“It’s a do or die type thing, like all or nothing and I can’t take a chance on having nothing so I’m all in.”

He’s all in now, but there were plenty of times he considered transferring.

“Deep down I knew I had made the right decision,” Copeland said.  “It was all God’s plan until my time came.”

All signs point to this being Copeland’s moment.  He’s Florida’s top returning receiver and ready to apply what he’s learned from former Gators receivers like Van Jefferson, Freddie Swain, Josh Hammond, and Tyrie Cleveland who all went on to the NFL.    

“What I learned from them is stay focused at all times,” Copeland said.  “No matter what everyone is going to go through difficult times, difficult moments, only thing you can do is stay prayed up and stay focused on what matters most.”

Head coach Dan Mullen has rewarded Copeland’s patience with the coveted #1 jersey which was last worn by New York Giants receiver Kadarius Toney in 2020 and famously adorned by Percy Harvin earlier in the 2000s.   

“Just knowing that I get to wear that jersey this year, I know what comes behind it and I know the responsibilities behind that jersey,” Copeland said.  “So coming out on that field come September 4th I know I’ve got to bring my A game at all times.  No matter what I’ve got to be a leader on this team.”

Copeland understands he has no choice to live up to the hype.  There’s too many people counting on him back home and up above.

“Copeland hangs his biggest inspirations in his locker.  There’s a picture of his grandmother.  Next to her is his father.  He remembers the day his grandmother told him his father was gone for good." (Spectrum News 13/Pat Welter)

The Path out of Pensacola

“Being from Pensacola knowing it’s a rough environment.  There’s not much there.  You’ve just got to do what it do to make it up out of there.”

Copeland is from the north side of Pensacola Florida and attended Escambia High School.  He grew up in a three bedroom house with his mother Betty as the youngest of seven brothers.

“Growing up seeing a lot of crime,” Copeland said.  “I’ve seen a lot of my close friends lose their life either to the grave or the jail cell type deal.  It was coming closer and closer towards me I can’t fall victim to that I know what’s right for me and I know what I’ve got ahead of me.  I know what I can do.”

Copeland has tried to succeed where other members of his family could not.  His father Darrick Bennett was in and out of jail most of Copeland’s life.  His brother Christain Parson is currently serving a jail sentence.

“He was one of the brothers that kept me motivated, kept me out of the streets type deal,” Copeland said.  “Because all of my brothers fell victim to the streets, none of them graduated. I’m the first to graduate, first to go to college. It keeps me motivated.”

Copeland hangs his biggest inspirations in his locker.  There’s a picture of his grandmother.  Next to her is his father.  He remembers the day his grandmother told him his father was gone for good.

“When I came home one time I see my mama in the room everyone crying, they didn’t want to tell me and I was like what’s going on?” Copeland remembers.  “Then I actually called my grandma and she told me my pops had passed.”

Copeland lost his father due to illness his freshman year of high school.

“That was another thing that kept me going a motivational thing, knowing what he wanted me to do in life that he didn’t do.”

“Next to the picture of his father inside Copeland’s locker is a third photograph.  It’s his nephew and best friend, Jaylen Millender, nicknamed “Fat Sauce.” (Spectrum News 13/Pat Welter)

Long Live Fat Sauce

Next to the picture of his father inside Copeland’s locker is a third photograph.  It’s his nephew and best friend, Jaylen Millender, nicknamed “Fat Sauce.”

“We were coming back from practice and actually went back to the locker room,” Copeland remembered.  February 19, 2019 is another day Copeland won’t forget.

“I looked and seen [Millender’s] mama kept calling me.  She doesn’t usually call me unless there’s other things going on, and it was multiple calls, I was like what’s going on here?  I see a lot of broken heart texts like “nep gone.”  So I looked on the internet and I seen his picture and I seen RIP, and I froze up.”

Millender suffered from seizures due to epilepsy.  Copeland said he died in his sleep.

“I know the plan he wanted for me and he always told me to stay focused on what matters most,” Copeland said.  “Playing ball was the one thing I always wanted.  He stuck with me at all times so it’s like man I can’t fail this mission now I’m here.”

Back in the stadium Copeland lifts up his shirt to reveal tattoos of his nephew and father on the left and right side of his stomach.  His intent is to keep the family he’s lost by his side everywhere he goes.

“They always with me at all times,” Copeland said as he stepped onto the field.  “As of right now I feel them right now as I walk through the swamp, they always with me.  They on each side of me guiding me through this, make sure I’m successful, make sure I’m right.”

Copeland has made it out of his city and his circumstance.  He wants anyone listening to know they can do the same.

“Me growing up poor being able to do something with my life,” Copeland said.  “I feel like everybody in Pensacola the younger youth, long as they stay focused on what they want in life they can do it succeed.”

“Back in the stadium Copeland lifts up his shirt to reveal tattoos of his nephew and father on the left and right side of his stomach.  His intent is to keep the family he’s lost by his side everywhere he goes.” (Spectrum News 13/Pat Welter)