When Kemari Copeland hit the Transfer Portal, one school that was after him was Virginia Tech and former coach Brent Pry. When Pry was fired after a Week 3 loss to Old Dominion, it hit Copeland hard. Pry was the only head coach who came and saw him play.
That decision to go to Virginia Tech was a rather easy one. Last week at ACC Media Days in Charlotte, Copeland joined head coach James Franklin and teammates Marcellous Hawkins and Tyson Flowers and spoke about his relationship and what it means to have him back as the Hokies' defensive coordinator.
"Oh yeah, so my relationship with Coach Pry is really good,'' said Copeland. "He was the only head coach to come see me at JUCO, and our relationship is really good. When he left, and when I saw that he was coming back, it was actually huge, and I was coming back. You know, I had a chance to go to the NFL, and he was actually a huge factor why I came back. And he's had top 10, top five defenses when he was a defensive coordinator. So I know that will be really good this year.''
Camp is right around the corner, and Copeland is going to be a problem in 2026. He set another Virginia Tech record in the weight room.
Virginia Tech DL Kemari Copeland sets another weight room school record
In June of 2024, Copeland set the Virginia Tech record for squats at 605 pounds 10 times. If that wasn't eye-opening enough, Copeland once again set another Hokies record ahead of the 2026 season.
Copeland broke another Virginia Tech record, this time the all-bench press record of 510 pounds, per the Hokies football X account and Copeland's personal X account.
Truly blessed to say I have BROKEN the Virginia
— Kemari “The Hulk” Copeland™ (@KemariCopeland) July 23, 2026
Techs all-time bench press record 510 pounds !!#AGTG#ThislsHome pic.twitter.com/jCpaUmuoLK
There is a lot to like about the upcoming season under James Franklin in his first season in Blacksburg, and camp is still a little bit away. However, Copeland is someone who is setting up for a big season, and he will be a problem for all Hokies opponents this fall along the defensive line for Virginia Tech.
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