An ode to Jeremaine Copeland: 10 memorable moments from his football career

One of the CFL's longest-tenured playing legends is hanging up his cleats, but he's not going far. After 11 CFL seasons, Toronto Argonauts' receiver Jeremaine Copeland is retiring and moving across southern Ontario to become the new receivers coach with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. It's a logical move for Copeland, as his production was decreasing in recent years, he was turning 35 this year and age generally leads to decline, but he still has tons of knowledge of this game and could be a very effective coach. Hiring Copeland makes sense for Hamilton, too, as he spent five seasons playing for new head coach George Cortez in Calgary, so he should be very familiar with the Ticats' new offensive system. Still, that's the future. Right now, it's worth looking back at some of the best moments in Copeland's remarkable football career. Here are 10 of them, arranged chronologically.

—Manning to Copeland: At the University of Tennessee, Copeland played with one of the most impressive quarterbacks of all time, a certain Peyton Manning (who's surrounded by rumours of his own retirement at the moment). Copeland was initially recruited as a quarterback and actually recorded the second-most pass attempts on the team (just 15, though) behind Manning in 1996, but turned into a great receiver and caught 104 passes for 1,376 yards over his career with the Volunteers, averaging 13.2 yards per reception. Here's part of acn interview Copeland did with The Score's D.J. Bennett about his time playing with Manning, including the line "he's always been a nutcase off the field":

—The national title: Of course, from one perspective, Copeland wound up with the better Tennessee career than Manning. The Volunteers had impressive 8-4, 11-1, 10-2 and 11-2 seasons with Manning under centre, but they picked up a national championship in 1998, a year after Manning left for the NFL. Copeland's individual statistics that year weren't as high as they were in his last year with Manning, but he still recorded 30 catches for 453 yards and a touchdown and was involved in the Fiesta Bowl win over Florida State that gave them the first BCS championship.

—European vacation: Copeland took his talents overseas afterwards, playing for the Barcelona Dragons in NFL Europe. He had a solid season with them, posting 74 receptions for a team-high 821 yards and six touchdowns, but elected to return to North America for the 2001 season.

—Montreal beginnings: Copeland started off his CFL career with the Montreal Alouettes, but only played six games with them in 2001. Still, it was a reasonably auspicious start for him; despite catching just 13 passes, he put up 182 receiving yards and a touchdown, an average of 14 yards per reception. It was a sign of better things to come.

—The XFL championship: Copeland also played for the Los Angeles Xtreme in wrestling promoter Vince McMahon's ill-fated XFL during 2001, and they went on to win the "Million-Dollar Championship Game" 38-6. There were plenty of memorable players on that Xtreme team, including quarterback Tommy Maddox (who would later win the NFL's Comeback Player Of The Year award with the Pittsburgh Steelers) and punter Noel Prefontaine (another CFL/XFL crossover who would later be a teammate of Copeland's in Toronto). Here's the footage of that Million-Dollar Championship Game:

—The 2002 championship: After the collapse of the XFL following the 2001 season and a failed tryout with the Dallas Cowboys, Copeland came back to Montreal and really started to make his mark in the CFL. He recorded 352 receiving yards in only part of the 2002 season, but it was the postseason where he really made his mark. That 2002 Alouettes team was legendary for its off-field antics, but it was also an incredible assemblage of football talent under legendary head coach Don Matthews, and they showed that in the Grey Cup. Copeland had two touchdowns in the big game and was a crucial part of Montreal's 25-16 win over the hometown Edmonton Eskimos.

—Breaking out in 2003: It was the 2003 season where Copeland's statistics really took off, though, and he piled up a league-high 1,757 receiving yards on 99 receptions, adding 14 touchdowns as well. Copeland and Ben Cahoon combined for 3,318 receiving yards, which remains a record for two teammates.

—The move west and a second Grey Cup: After another successful season in Montreal in 2004 (1,154 yards, 10 touchdowns), Copeland signed as a free agent with the Calgary Stampeders. He teamed with Henry Burris and Nik Lewis to form an explosive offence and was an important part of Calgary's Grey Cup victory in 2008, hauling in seven passes for 53 yards in the big game. Here are the highlights of that Grey Cup:

—The touchdown celebrations: Despite all Copeland's success on the field in Calgary, some will remember the crazy celebrations he, Lewis and others came up with even more. Here's a video interview TSN did with Copeland and Lewis about their celebrations before the 2008 Grey Cup (the infamous bobsled is at 0:12):

—Taking it to Toronto: Copeland had one more notable move to make, as the Toronto Argonauts traded P.K. Sam for him in 2010. It was a big victory for the Argonauts, as Sam never did much after that (and in fact, was traded back to Toronto the next year), while Copeland went on to be a crucial leader in the Toronto locker room. Copeland's history with coach Jim Barker made him a great fit for the Argonauts, and he helped them reach the 2010 playoffs and knock off Hamilton in the East semifinal. His Toronto statistics weren't as impressive as those he'd put up in Calgary and Montreal, as he only recorded 639 and 633 yards in 2010 and 2011 respectively, but part of that was thanks to the Argonauts' well-documented quarterback issues. Copeland was still one of their top receivers and was an important veteran presence on the club. As Copeland told Drew Edwards, he probably could still play, but he wanted to leave on his own terms. He's done that, and he should still be an important CFL figure in the years to come.