When Virginia Tech hired James Franklin as the school's next football coach, the former Vanderbilt and Penn State head coach went to work on retaining some key players for the 2026 season. He also helped himself out in terms of targeting key retention when he brought back Brent Pry as his defensive coordinator three months after he was fired as head coach.
Copeland had his first season in 2024 with the Hokies cut short after just four games with an injury. He registered six tackles in those games, but he was a big loss along the defensive line. He worked hard to get back on the field in 2025, and it paid off with 48 tackles and a team-high 45 sacks in 12 games. He is back for one more season and he skyrocketed up one impressive list for the 2026 campaign.
Virginia Tech's Kemari Copeland skyrockets up the Freaks List ahead of the 2026 season
Bruce Feldman of The Athletic released the top 101 College Football Freaks List ahead of each season. Last season, Copeland was ranked 23rd on the list, but this season, and really, to nobody's surprise, he skyrocketed up the list for the 2026 season to No. 7.
Seven might seem high, but make no mistake about it, Copeland is a freak. He set the school record when he benched 510 pounds earlier this summer. Truth be told, he did it with ease. It took social media by storm, to nobody's surprise.
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
It will be very interesting to see how Virginia Tech's defense fares under Pry this fall. Sure, coming back into the building where you were fired just three months earlier is awkward, to say the least. However, if you look at the history that he had with Franklin as his DC in State College before he left to replace Justin Fuente in Blacksburg, well, there is a lot of reason for hope.
Copeland is going to be a major factor in the defense if he can stay healthy, and if he does stay healthy, he could raise his NFL Draft stock for next April's draft. The Athletic told all Virginia Tech fans what they already knew and put the rest of college football on notice .
Also on the list for the Hokies was linebacker Kaleb Spencer, who came in at No. 83. Back for another season at linebacker, he turned out some impressive offseason workout numbers as well, according to Feldman.
"This offseason, Spencer bench pressed 375 pounds, squatted 565 and power cleaned 365. He also topped 21 mph on the GPS and ran a 4.20 shuttle. The fastest shuttle time by a linebacker at the combine since 2022 is just a one-hundredth of a second faster at 4.19,'' Feldman wrote.
Franklin and Pry are going to be two key members of the Hokies' defense in 2026, and it isn't surprising to see either end up on this list.
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