Virginia Tech defensive lineman Kemari Copeland keeps stacking up preseason recognition, and the latest nod puts him on one of college football’s most respected defensive lists.
The Hokies announced Friday afternoon on social media that Copeland has been named to the Bednarik Award Watch List. The award goes to the top defensive player in college football and has been around since 1997. In the ACC, only two players have taken home the honor in the last 15 years: Pittsburgh’s Aaron Donald in 2013 and NC State’s Payton Wilson in 2023.
For Copeland, this is the fourth major watch list of the offseason. He and tight end Luke Reynolds were added to the Senior Bowl Top 300 watch list yesterday afternoon, and Copeland had already shown up on the Nagurski and Outland Trophy watch lists.
His rise last season was one of the clearest bright spots in a rough year for Virginia Tech. In his second season with the Hokies, the 6-foot-2 defensive tackle finished with 48 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and a team-best 4.5 sacks.
His biggest game came against California on Oct. 24, when he became the first Hokie since his then-position coach, J.C. Price, in 1995 to record three sacks in a single game.
Copeland added seven tackles in that game, including four solo stops, and was later named ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week after Virginia Tech’s 42-34 overtime win.
Copeland’s production has also been matched by the kind of strength numbers that jump off the page. He currently owns Virginia Tech program records in the squat, at 605 pounds for 10 reps, and the bench press, at 510 pounds for one rep.
The honors kept coming after the season, too. Copeland was named All-ACC Third Team and was one of just two Hokies to make an All-ACC team, along with defensive tackle Kody Huisman, who earned All-ACC Honorable Mention.
He’s the only returning All-ACC player for Virginia Tech. In late July, he was also named to the All-ACC Preseason Team, finishing second among defensive tackles in the voting behind Miami’s Ahmad Moten Sr., who received 126 votes to Copeland’s 89.
Virginia Tech’s 2025 season didn’t give Copeland much help around him. The Hokies finished 3-9 overall and 2-6 in the ACC, their lowest mark by winning percentage since 1992.
Brent Pry was fired after a 45-26 loss to Old Dominion dropped the team to 0-3, and James Franklin was hired on Nov. 17.
The ACC had 12 players on the Bednarik Award Watch List, including Copeland, Clemson’s Sammy Brown and Ashton Hampton, Florida State’s Ja’Bril Rawls, Louisville’s Clev Lubin, Miami’s Ahmad Moten Sr. and Damon Wilson II, North Carolina’s Melkart Abou Jaoude, Pitt’s Braylan Lovelace, Stanford’s Matt Rose, Virginia’s Kam Robinson and Wake Forest’s Langston Hardy.
The semifinalists for the award will be announced Nov. 10, followed by three finalists on Nov. 24. The winner will be revealed Dec. 10 at the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show, per the ACC’s release.
Virginia Tech opens its 2026 season on Saturday, Sept. 5, when it hosts VMI at Lane Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on the ACC Network.
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