After a 3-9 first season at Virginia Tech, it would have been easy for some players to bolt to the Transfer Portal or head to the NFL. One of those players was defensive lineman Kemari Copeland.
Copeland transferred from Iowa Western Community College in the 2023 winter portal window and played in just four games in 2024 before taking on a much bigger role last season. After Brent Pry was fired last September and James Franklin was hired at Virginia Tech after being fired last October at Penn State, Copeland was a player whom he was able to retain.
On Thursday, Copeland was part of the Virginia Tech players at the ACC media days in Charlotte, along with Franklin. Copeland was asked about the awkward situation with Pry being hired back at Virginia Tech as the defensive coordinator under Franklin, three months after being fired.
Kemari Copeland explains how Brent Pry's return kept him in Blacksburg
Copeland was someone who could have tested the NFL Draft waters, but chose to come back to the Hokies. Pry was part of the reason for that.
"Oh yeah, so my relationship with Coach Pry is really good,'' said Copeland at ACC Media Days. "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.''
Pry coming back might have been awkward at first, but it might end up being a very sneaky, underrated move by Franklin. The duo had some of the best defenses in the country when they were at Penn State before Pry left to be the head coach in Blacksburg. Now, Franklin is bringing him back just a few months after getting fired to turn around a defense that has struggled the last couple of seasons.
Copeland had 50 tackles in 2025 with 7.5 tackles for a loss and 4.5 sacks with an interception. He is in line for a bigger season and looking to raise his draft stock in 2026, something he will look to do under a coach who believes in him.
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