Tampering is a hot-button topic in college football right now, mainly due to Dabo Swinney. The Clemson head coach brought out a ton of receipts on Ole Miss for their handling of linebacker Luke Ferrelli. As a result, some others are beginning to speak out, including Virginia Tech defensive lineman Kemari Copeland.
Exactly what goes into the tampering process can be confusing. So, Copeland made a video to provide a real-life example. This happened to him during the 2025 season following the firing of Brent Pry. A few weeks later, Copeland looked in the stands and somebody from a different program was there to scout him.
“From my experience, the tampering was after the fourth game,” Copeland said. “Our coach got fired so there was a bunch of stuff going on. There was one specific incident that was insane… We get to Week 8 and there was one specific school that kept attempting to hit me up, coaches and that… We get into the eighth game, I look into the crowd, and the team that was tampering — they’re in the crowd watching me play. Like, they’re evaluating me. It looked like a recruiter. He had his hat on and stuff. It was crazy. There’s no way a fan is wearing that logo to a Virginia Tech game and sitting right in the front.”
Copeland then received a text a few days later from the same school. He put the message on screen but scratched out a few words — something that’s easy to assume is a dollar amount.
“Good afternoon,” the text read. “I have a minimum [scratched out] the table for you in the fall portal. Not sure if you have even thought about the transfer portal but would love to connect with you and your folks about the opportunity this week if you have some availability.”
If this did take place after Week 8, it was just days removed from Virginia Tech getting its third win of the season vs. Cal. Copeland had one of his best games of the season, finishing with seven tackles, three sacks, and three tackles for a loss. Not a bad performance with a scout in attendance — tampering or not.
Copeland ultimately decided to stay in Blacksburg for the 2026 season. James Franklin takes over as the head coach, while Pry surprisingly came back to be the defensive coordinator. But Copeland is not going to reveal who attempted to get him in the portal, just wanting to share the story for perspective.
“I ain’t going to air out no school,” Copeland said. “I’m not going to get nobody in trouble or anything. It’s really serious. I just thought it would be cool to talk about it.”