No one said married life was easy. But senior Jon Copper takes it to an entirely new dimension.
While starting 36 consecutive games and counting for Virginia at inside linebacker, Copper is also the only current football player for Virginia who has tied the knot. His wife, Holly Dixon Copper, is also a full-time student and senior at the University; the two married in May 2007.
When Virginia coach Al Groh was asked if Copper is the only married player he has ever had, he had an answer that had everyone in the room chuckling.
“Officially, yeah,” Groh said. “We’ve had quite a few that it wasn’t recorded down at the hall of records, but who had a lot less independence than Jon has got.”
With all that Copper adds to the team, his teammates are pleased that he still has time for football. Though not a captain this season, Groh said Copper is “one of the most respected players on the team.” A product of Fork Union Military Academy and a native of Roanoke, Va., Copper was initially offered a partial financial-aid package from Bucknell, but the package was then rescinded — “they dropped me,” Copper said. With his first choice always to attend the University, Copper — undersized at 6-foot and with uninspiring athleticism — then decided to give it a go as a walk-on, with nothing but a tryout invitation from the Virginia coaching staff and his own competitive nature to lean on.
“When I came up here, I think my senior year of high school, and watched spring practice, I knew I could be competitive with the guys that were on the field,” Copper said. “But the things that have happened ... I see a lot of it out of my control, and I’ve just been very fortunate. It’s been a blessing.”
Now in his fifth year, Copper is preparing to walk into Scott Stadium for the last time Saturday in a home bout with Clemson as a three-year starter and one of the most overachieving players on the team. With 85 tackles thus far this season — 25 more than any Cavalier — Copper is well on his way to leading the team in tackles for the third straight season and to becoming the 14th player in Virginia history to tally at least 300 tackles in his career. The last Virginia player to reach this mark was linebacker Angelo Crowell, a Class of 2002 graduate.
“Remarkable, amazing, distinguished,” Groh said of Copper’s career thus far, adding, “As productive as he’s been, he’s unassuming as a person could be but not unconfident.”
Fellow senior linebacker Clint Sintim had similar thoughts.
“He’s a great player, especially — and he’ll tell you this — for the lack of athleticism and his height,” Sintim said. “I think he feeds off the fact that he’s not the fastest or the strongest or the tallest and he’s still able to be as productive as he is.”
What’s more, this season, Copper now takes nearly every snap in the 3-4 as well as in Virginia’s nickel and dime packages because of injuries that have plagued the linebacker corps. Known to be one of the fiercest film-viewers on the team — he brings a dog-eared spiral notebook to film sessions, Groh said — Copper simply does everything the right way.
For players like Copper, “We’re able to say to some of [the freshmen], ‘Look, you see that guy over there? He plays your position — just watch him all year,’” Groh said. “‘Watch how he lifts weights. Watch how he practices. Watch him during film sessions. He’s figured out how to do it.’”
Then, at the end of the day, the student-athlete-husband goes home and squeezes in a little study time for his major, religious studies. If he has time, he might also help out with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Young Life or Athletes in Action at U.Va, all clubs with which Copper is involved.
”He’s a married man, he’s very religious, he has a lot of things in his life that are extremely important to him,” Sintim said. “This football thing is obviously important to him, but [Copper] is very mature and old, so he handles himself the way an older, married man would.”
To say the least, when Copper walks into Scott Stadium during the senior day celebrations, Holly won’t be the only one clapping.
“Copper is the man,” Sintim said.
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