Copeland Bryan (born July 14, 1983) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). Bryan signed with the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2006, and played in games for the NFL's

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

and

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

. He ended his playing career with the

Las Vegas Locomotives The Las Vegas Locomotives (called the Locos for short) were a professional American football team based in Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas, Nevada that played in the United Football League (2009–2012), United Football League. The team played their ...

and

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

. Bryan played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Arizona Wildcats The Arizona Wildcats are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson, Arizona, Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Divis ...

. He is the older brother of NFL

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

Courtney Bryan, and cousin of NFL players

Donny Brady Donald Maynard Brady (born November 24, 1973) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). He was signed by the Saskatchewan Roughriders as an ...

and Gary Brown.

Early life

Copeland Jameel Bryan was born July 14, 1983, in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

, the son of Copeland Bryan and Viera Whye. Bryan attended

Bellarmine College Preparatory Bellarmine College Preparatory is an all-boys, Jesuit, private secondary school located in San Jose, California. Founded on May 8, 1851, it is the oldest Jesuit secondary school in California and the second-oldest west of the Mississippi River. ...

School where he lettered in football and track.

College

Bryan attended the University of Arizona where he walked-on the football team in 2001. After

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

ing his freshman year, he placed second in sacks and in tackles for loss in 2002 and was given a scholarship. Bryan eventually played in 43 games with 22 starts from 2002 to 2005. He finished his college career with 109 tackles, 14 sacks, 21 TFLs, 11 PBUs, blocked 1 kick, forced 2 fumbles and had 2 fumble recoveries. Bryan earned Second-team All-Pac-10 honor in 2005.

Professional career

Bryan entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent and signed with the Tennessee Titans on May 4, 2006. He was waived by the Titans in September 2006 and was signed immediately by the Chicago Bears practice squad. Bryan did not enter any games for the Chicago Bears which played in

Super Bowl XLI Super Bowl XLI was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2006 Indianapolis Colts season, Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2006 Chicago Bears season, Chicag ...

. Bryan was waived by the Bears the following preseason. He signed with the Buffalo Bills in September 2007 and made his NFL debut against the New York Jets on October 28, 2007. He played 2 games for them in 2007 and 15 games in 2008. He then signed a three-year contract with the Detroit Lions, playing 5 games in 2009 before being placed on injured reserve with a sprained knee. Bryan later played for the Las Vegas Locomotives in 2011 and signed a two-year contract to play for the

in 2012.

References

External links

Player Stats
for Copeland Bryan at NFL.com
Montreal Alouettes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bryan, Copeland Players of American football from San Jose, California Players of Canadian football from San Jose, California American football defensive ends Arizona Wildcats football players Tennessee Titans players Chicago Bears players Buffalo Bills players Montreal Alouettes players 1983 births Living people Las Vegas Locomotives players Bellarmine College Preparatory alumni