U.Va. linebacker makes an impression

By Doug Doughty

CHARLOTTESVILLE

Part of Jon Copper's legacy as a University of Virginia football player is that he made it acceptable - even advisable - for the Cavaliers to recruit guys who play like him.

Copper did not receive a scholarship either as a senior in high school or as a postgraduate at Fork Union Military Academy, yet wound up his U.Va. career as a three-year starter with more than 300 tackles.

When Steve Greer arrived in Charlottesville in 2008, he was told to observe and absorb everything Copper did.

"I think the biggest thing is knowing where you've got to be and where everybody else is going to be," said Greer, a 6-foot-2, 225-pound linebacker from outside Cleveland. "That's what Copper related to me: 'Know your job and know other guys' jobs, and you'll be able to make plays.' "

Copper, whose eligibility expired after the 2008 season, watched from a suite Saturday as Greer made a team-high 10 tackles in a 26-14 loss to William and Mary.

"First time I didn't have someplace to play since the second grade," said Copper, who was the guest of a Fork Union Military Academy group. "It didn't really hit me until it was Friday night and I wasn't going to a hotel. It was a little weird."

Copper appreciates the comparisons to Greer but points out that there were differences.

"Steve played linebacker for several years at a bigger school, and his tangible numbers, when you put a clock to him, were better," said Copper, who was a defensive lineman until his senior year at Northside High in Roanoke. "He looked better on paper than I did when I was coming out."

Aaron Clark, a senior outside linebacker for the Cavaliers, surprised some people last week when he said Greer might be the fastest of U.Va.'s linebackers.

"When Steve came in, he had a great motor already," Copper said. "He had good speed already. Smart guy. Picks things up well."

Copper said he devoted much of his attention to Greer on Saturday.

"I thought Steve played very well, considering it was his first start (and) his first college action," said Copper, who is working as a personal trainer in Charlottesville while his wife is completing her degree.

Virginia's staff chose Greer as the Cavaliers' defensive player of the game.

"Very impressed with him," head coach Al Groh said. "He's a player that doesn't make very many mistakes. He's where he's supposed to be when he's supposed to be there. And if he's not there today, or this play, he quickly processes it and uses it to do better."

Greer said he did not hear from Virginia until he had completed his senior year at Solon High School. Greer had been a fan of former Ohio State linebacker A.J. Hawk but wasn't a huge Big Ten fan.

While he wasn't widely recruited, Greer already had taken recruiting visits to North Carolina and Oklahoma State and had offers in hand by the time he got to Charlottesville in the winter of 2008.

"I was kind of undecided," said Greer, who committed four days before signing day. "But, from the moment I stepped on campus and talked to the players and coaches, it just felt right."

Greer, who received three stars from rivals.com, was the only linebacker signed by the Cavaliers in 2008. The previous year, the Cavaliers had signed a pair of four-star linebackers in J'Courtney Williams and Terrence Fells-Danzer.

Williams was arrested on a charge of credit-card theft and dismissed before the end of his freshman year. Fells-Danzer played on special teams Saturday but is not on the two-deep.

"There can be some 'rivals' guys who jump high and run and have a really good 40-yard dash time at the Army combine, so they get five stars," Groh said. "But when they come to college football, they make a lot of mistakes and they are part of teams that struggle.

"There's a saying, 'Good teams have lots of players who don't make mistakes.' Steven Greer is one of those players."