Hokies offer JUCO DL originally from Virginia Beach

Kemari Copeland landed an offer from Virginia Tech on Friday

Coming out of high school in Virginia Beach, Kemari Copeland dreamed of playing football at Virginia Tech. A Kellam High School graduate in 2021, Copeland held 11 scholarship offers and ultimately chose Army over his other suitors.

In December, he opted to leave Army and become a bounce-back recruit by enrolling at Iowa Western Junior College where he has landed scholarship offers from Marshall, USF, Troy, Liberty, Western Kentucky, Appalachian State, Utah State, Western Michigan, Oregon State, Washington State, Tennessee, Auburn, Houston, Coastal Carolina, Iowa State, and Louisville.

On Friday, he landed an offer from Virginia Tech.

“I just got off the phone with Coach Price,” Copeland said.

“They just offered me. It feels great. I’m very excited. All of my hard work is paying off.”

Virginia Tech has been showing interest in Copeland since he initially decided to leave Army in December. After his spring season and a partial fall season at Iowa Western, the Hokies were ready to pull the trigger and offer Copeland a chance to return to Virginia to play out the remainder of his collegiate career.

“I would feel great about that,” he said when asked about possibly returning to Virginia. “Virginia Tech was my dream school in high school, so I’m very excited.”

Copeland added that he will “definitely” take an official visit to Virginia Tech before National Signing Day.

Through seven games, Copeland has recorded 22 tackles and 2.5 sacks, according to the Iowa Western roster. Iowa Western is 7-0 on the season.

On the roster, Copeland is listed as a redshirt sophomore, which gives him two years of remaining collegiate eligibility after the season. He is eligible to transfer in December.