Grambling’s Nigel Copeland hopes to keep proving them wrong

When we last saw Grambling defensive back Nigel Copeland, he was shutting down Southern’s celebrated receiver Jaumorris Stewart — who finished the season-closing Bayou Classic with just three catches.

Stewart came into the game leading the Southwestern Athletic Conference in receptions, yards and touchdowns.

“My last game was in the New Orleans Superdome,” Copeland said. “I will never forget it. I cried like a baby when it was over.”

Copeland is hoping that TV appearance, during a 31-13 victory broadcast nationally on NBC, will help him continue to climb up NFL draft boards. He also earned a key postseason honor (along with Grambling offensive lineman Revay Smith) with an invite last December in the inaugural HBCU Senior Bowl — a new showcase for seniors from the four historically black college football conferences in both Division I and II.

“The training is going well,” Copeland told me. “I talked to a few teams at the All-Star Game. It was a good experience. I had a good week of practice.”

Still, Copeland (6-0, 190; 4.5 in the 40), ranked No. 150 out of 230 defensive backs nationally by NFLDraftScout.com, is used to be overlooked — then proving folks dead wrong.

A Birmingham, Ala., native who would lead Grambling in pass defense as a senior, Copeland was initially overlooked by many recruiters — including Alabama, who Copeland said offered him before a poor showing on the SAT.

A cousin played at Grambling, and his hometown had a strong connection with the program through assistant Andre Robinson, a former standout defender at GSU who boasted a long stint in Birmingham as a high school coach.

“I knew about Grambling’s football history and tradition,” Copeland said. “You can’t beat the history of this program. This school is one of the top programs.”

He finally got his chance to play and, after a 2006 season spent as a reserve, never had fewer than two picks in a season, while averaging 35 stops a year. “I can tackle,” he said, “and I pride myself on it.”

Copeland was also second on the team with three interceptions in 2009, and scored one defensive touchdown. “I never gave up a big play; I was able to stop the big play,” he said. “I had a good senior year.”

He leaves Grambling with 111 total tackles, 10 interceptions (including a team-leading 4 in 2007, as a rookie starter), 4 fumble recoveries and 3 blocked kicks (including a game-clinching one against Prairie View three seasons ago). GSU won two Western divisional crowns, made a pair of appearances in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Championship Game and earned a SWAC title over that span.

Grambling’s Pro Day is set for March 23, Copeland said. He has been elsewhere, however, training and putting on muscle mass in New York. It’s a daily regimen, Copeland says, focusing on explosiveness.

He takes little time away his pro dreams, though Copeland admitted that he has slipped out to experience the bustle of Wall Street — something that appeals to the business management major. After football, that is.

“I have been busting my behind,” Copeland said, “Now I have a chance to get to the NFL and play.”
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