MIAMI (March 6, 2017) – Head Coach Butch Davis announced on Monday the addition of Jeff Copp to the FIU football staff. Copp will serve as defensive backs coach, replacing Bobby Babich, who joined the Buffalo Bills staff in February.
 
"Jeff Copp is a tremendous addition to our staff," Davis said. "He's got a diverse coaching background and his experience coaching with Brent Guy at Utah State will be extremely valuable on the defensive side of the ball."
 
Copp comes to FIU after spending one season (2016) at Northern Arizona as the Lumberjacks' special teams coordinator. Prior to his stint at NAU, Copp coached at UC Davis for seven seasons.
 
A former All-Big West Conference Boise State defensive lineman and a participant in two Humanitarian Bowls, Copp joined the UC Davis football program as a safeties coach in 2009. He coached the linebackers for three seasons (2013-15) after coaching the Aggies' defensive backfield and special teams from 2011-12.
 
UC Davis led all NCAA Div. I (FCS) teams in net punting (41.4 avg.) and kickoff returns (26.4 avg.) in 2012. Additionally, senior punter Colton Schmidt was named All-Big Sky Conference first team after averaging 44.5 yards per attempt, sixth-best in the FCS, and in 2015 began his second year as the starting punter for the Buffalo Bills.
 
His linebackers also excelled. Linebacker Steven Pitts earned All-Big Sky honorable mention accolades in 2013 after posting 74 tackles, a team-high 11.5 TFLs and four sacks for 35 yards in losses. He repeated All-Big honors in 2014.


Prior to joining the Aggies, Copp spent the previous four seasons as a safeties and special teams coach at Utah State under current FIU Defensive Coordinator Brent Guy. Prior to his tenure in Logan, Copp served as a defensive ends coach at Idaho State in 2004 and as a graduate assistant at Arizona State from 2001 to 2003.
 
Copp earned his bachelor's degree in health sciences from Boise State in 2001 then added a master's degree in higher education at ASU in 2003. He is married to the former Amanda Konzelman.
 
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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium.
 
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offer more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes $8.9 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.