As former Pirate Terrance Copper Sr. sends his son Terrance Copper Jr. to East Carolina University's football team 2020 freshman class as a receiver, he reflects back on the time spent prior to his 10 years playing football at the professional level in the National Football League (NFL) .
Copper graduated from ECU in 2003 after he spent four years as a Pirate. He went undrafted in the 2004 NFL Draft, but was signed by the Dallas Cowboys in the same year, according to Rotoworld. Copper said his time spent at ECU prepared him more than he realized once he went pro.
“Playing at East Carolina and playing under coach Steve Logan made my transition not easy, but it made it easier because the offense we ran was a pro-style offense,” Copper said. “Once I got to the NFL, I understood the terminology...when it came to the playbook, it wasn’t easy, but it was easier than it could have been.”
Over the course of his collegiate career, Copper’s play gradually improved statistically with his most impressive year coming from his senior season, according to Sports Reference. He went from catching only nine receptions for 187 yards in his freshman season to catching 87 receptions as a senior for 897 yards total. In his senior season he also scored two touchdowns.
In his sophom*ore season, Copper was listed as a running back, according to Sports Reference. He only had nine carries for 49 yards, but he paired that with 13 receptions for 204 yards on the season with one rushing touchdown.
As far as collegiate accolades, in 2003 Copper was ranked No. 1 in receptions among Conference USA (C-USA) teams and No. 9 in the entire NCAA, according to Sports Reference. He additionally ranked No. 5 in C-USA in receiving yards during the same season.
Once he made it to the NFL, Copper said his eyes were opened to several differences as a rookie, but the biggest one came off the field: his first paycheck. Copper said as a rookie he had no idea that there would be so many taxes taken out once he made it to professional football. He said the main change that came from the field was the football itself.
“In college and high school, it was easier to locate it because you see a white stripe spinning at you so you can locate it from a farther distance,” Copper said. “Once I got to the NFL, it was tough to locate the ball because it was a straight brown ball coming at me. Sometimes it blended in with the stands, the atmosphere...that’s why I really loved playing snow games.”
As a pro, Copper said he spent a total of 10 years playing for different teams. He spent two years with the Dallas Cowboys and played 26 games with them until 2006, where he then went to the New Orleans Saints, according to the Rotoworld website.
Midway through the 2008 season, Copper was cut from the Saints and signed by the Baltimore Ravens, but in 2009 he signed with the Kansas City Chiefs where he spent the remainder of his career, according to the NFL.
In addition to being a receiver, Copper was a big special teams player over the course of his career. In Dallas as a rookie, he returned 16 kickoffs for a total of 307 yards on the season, his longest return being 39 yards, according to the Pro Football Reference website.
“To be honest with you, that is how I stayed in the league as long as I did,” Copper said. “I was a great receiver, don’t get me wrong, but if you're not a starter, you have to be good on special teams.”
Copper said he learned very early in his career how significant special teams would be in his career. While he was in Dallas, Copper said his Hall of Fame head coach Bill Parcells told him that his role on the team would show significance through special teams.
His most impressive year as a receiver concerning statistics came in 2006 with the Saints. Copper caught a total of 23 receptions for 385 yards on the year and also finished that season with three touchdowns, all career-highs, according to ESPN.
Currently, Copper’s son is a receiver on the 2020 roster as he looks to start his own collegiate career as a Pirate.
