2026 games, tackles for loss per game. W and L: the team’s results.
Kemari Copeland
The four seasons span two programs and three head coaches: Jeff Monken, Brent Pry and James Franklin. The first career honor came in 2025: All-ACC. A game that shows it: 6 tackles and 1 tackle for loss against Pittsburgh — Week 5, 2026.
20 tackles · 1 sack
Play style
Controls the point of attack and doesn't move.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Fans first named Kemari Copeland vs VMI.
His game this year: disruption in the backfield — 4 tackles for loss, 1 of them a sack, in the 7 games with play by play.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Virginia Tech | 20 | 11 | 4.0 | 1.0 | -- |
| 2025 | Virginia Tech | 48 | 12 | 8.0 | 4.5 | 1 |
| 2024 | Virginia Tech | 6 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- |
| 2022 | Army | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | -- |
| Career | 76 | 26 | 12.5 | 5.5 | 1 |
Last game (Wk 8): 4 tackles.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 7 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 73-3vs VMI | 1 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 44-21vs Old Dominion | 1 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 35-26@ Maryland | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 21-14@ Boston College | 4 | 4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 33-35vs Pittsburgh | 6 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 6 tackles |
| Wk 6 | L 20-25@ California | 3 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 20-16@ Clemson | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 20 | 11 | 4.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 |
Ratings of the games shown run from -15 to +8 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
TFL rate
20%4 TFLSack rate
5%1 sackHurry rate
10%2 hurries20 tackles · 4 for loss · 1 sack.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 7 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home3g | 2.7 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road4g | 3.0 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 2.7 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 4.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
James Franklin
Pass share
48.9%
277 pass / 289 run
Plays / game
70.8
8 games
Team sack rate
9.0%
290 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2025
Picked for an all-conference team by at least one selector.
Recognition
2026 outlook
Outside shot to repeat All-ACC
Based on 2025: #12 of 73 ACC DLs
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 22% of returning players who ranked #11–20 at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 19–25%).
The No. 2,698 recruit in the country is starting on the defensive line in the ACC.
2026 is in progress.
A stat line in 23 games over four seasons.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-ACC
All-ACC mention (2025)
Weekly recognition
1 weekly honor (2025)
ACC Defensive Line Player of the Week
Coaching lineage · 2022–2026
4 coachesPlayed for 4 head coaches at 2 schools: Jeff Monken, Brent Pry, Philip Montgomery and James Franklin.
