Junior running back Alfred Blue described running behind junior fullback J.C. Copeland as “a Corolla behind an 18-wheeler.”
Copeland runs like a bull in a china shop with his intimidating 6-foot-1-inch, 280-pound frame careening toward defenders.
“I want to put fear in the linebacker’s heart,” Copeland said. “I go for anything to wear them out and put them out of the game so that when they come over, they just fold up and get out of the way so the running back can run for days.”
His work as a former defensive lineman in high school has given Copeland a ferocious edge, along with aggressive tendencies when stampeding out of the backfield.
Teammates describe Copeland as an angry force, creating a path of destruction for backs to navigate.
“J.C.’s style of play is very aggressive and angry,” junior running back Michael Ford said. “I haven’t seen that before. J.C. is just a different type of guy. Anytime he’s in the game it’s going to be a big play because he’s clearing it out.”
Copeland said he uses his instincts from his experience stopping the run to now aid the very people he sought to bring down.
“I learned to take some of the stuff I did at D-tackle to the other side of the ball,” Copeland said. “I learned to be aggressive making the play. … I know a lot of defenses; I know a lot of schemes.”
Copeland’s journey ­- from a highly recruited defensive lineman coming out of high school to the starting fullback for the nation’s No. 1 team in his junior season – was initially a reluctant one.
“Someone asked me if I had ever played the fullback position and I said, ‘Yeah, it was like a stupid package’ [in high school],” Copeland said. “And he said he was going to bring it up in the meeting tonight, and the next day I was in the fullback meeting room and I was playing fullback. At first I wasn’t [excited about the switch], but it was an opportunity to get on the field and do something for the team.”
But after spending a season learning behind former LSU fullback James Stampley, the LaGrange, Ga., native claims that he’s smarter and lighter than last season and ready to block for the stable of runners emerging from LSU’s backfield.
“[Stampley] taught me how to withstand through a whole season,” Copeland said. “The amount of force we put on people, the amount of pressure you put on your body – he taught me to save my body.”
During the Tiger’s 2011 campaign, Copeland recorded only two carries for no yards as he was exclusively used as a blocking back in his four starts.
Copeland said he wants to break the perception that he’s only a blocking back. He plans to do so by becoming more productive in the offense.
The goals the Tiger fullback has set for himself include racking up 10 receptions, 50 rushing yards and to being feared by every linebacker in the Southeastern Conference.
When asked to sum up his style of play, Copeland replied, “I am a punisher.”
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Contact Mike Gegenheimer at [email protected].