The Sunshine State’s No. 1 receiver clearly struggled to make his final decision. The one-time Florida commit had been projected by many to end up at Alabama then, after Jeremy Pruitt took over at Tennessee, the Volunteers gained some steam in his recruitment. In the end, the pull to stay in the state was too much to ignore.
Jacob Copeland announced his decision to commit to Florida live on ESPN during the network’s coverage of National Signing Day.
All the while, the in-state Gators never seemed to stray far from his heart. Copeland visited Knoxville, College State, Tuscaloosa and finally Gainesville leading up to National Signing Day and really appeared to battle his emotions during the entire process.
Here’s a tweet Copeland sent out the day before National Signing Day, illustrating that very point:
Throughout this entire recruiting process I never been as stressed as I am now. I cried and cried all last night about God leading me in the right directions. Now I don’t have over much as a day to decide on a school that’ll change my future after football. ?
— Jacob Copeland (@JCope1era) February 6, 2018
Despite all the difficulty that went into making the decision, in the end, Copeland returns to the Gators’ latest recruiting class once again.
To get an indication of just how good Copeland will be at the next level, check out one of his high school highlight reels:
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
