Russell Samoan Copeland (born November 4, 1971) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

wide receiver in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

, and the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the

University of Memphis } The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students. The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering ...

, where he was teammates with future NFL hall of fame receiver

Isaac Bruce Isaac Isidore Bruce (born November 10, 1972) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) and a member of the 2020 Pro Football Hall of Fame class. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the second round o ...

. In three seasons, Copeland caught 116 passes for 1,753 yards and 12 touchdowns, while adding another 536 yards returning punts and kickoffs. He was selected by the Bills in the fourth round of the 1993 NFL Draft. In his rookie season, Copeland gained 952 all-purpose yards, assisting his team to a championship appearance in

Super Bowl XXVIII Super Bowl XXVIII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Buffalo Bills to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for ...

. His best season was in 1995, when he caught 42 passes for 646 yards and a touchdown. Copeland finished his career with 103 receptions for 1,463 yards and 2 touchdowns, and 2,270 all-purpose yards. After his career in the NFL, Copeland played 1 game for the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL) in 2001. While with the

, Russell would hit the drum solo to Phil Collins' song, "In the Air Tonight" on point during pregame warmups at then,

Rich Stadium Highmark Stadium is a stadium in Orchard Park (town), New York, Orchard Park, New York State, New York, in the Southtowns of the Buffalo, New York, Buffalo metropolitan area. The stadium opened in 1973 Buffalo Bills season, 1973 as Rich Stadium a ...

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References

External links

Just Sports Stats
1971 births Living people Sportspeople from Tupelo, Mississippi American football wide receivers Tupelo High School alumni Memphis Tigers football players Buffalo Bills players Green Bay Packers players Philadelphia Eagles players Memphis Maniax players Toronto Argonauts players {{widereceiver-1970s-stub