His freshman basketball coach noticed Copher’s physical size and showed him what the odds were for a high school athlete to earn a college scholarship.
His grandfather told Copher he had what it took to become the first member of the family to obtain a college degree.
But it wasn’t until his sophomore year when Copher accidentally walked into football coach Jay Niswonger’s office and saw a scouting representative from Ohio State sitting there that Ben realized he could possibly make something of his football career.
“People always told me that I was big and strong, that I could go as far as I wanted,” Copher said, during a brief respite between football practice and weight training. “I guess I never really believed them until then. That’s when I decided to really work hard and see where this takes me.”
While Ohio State has shown mild interest, fellow Big Ten schools Wisconsin and Indiana are particularly keen on Copher. Several Mid-American Conference programs have shown interest as well.
At 6-feet-7 inches tall and weighing in at 310 pounds, the senior makes for a massive presence in or out of shoulder pads.
“The thing that impresses me about him is, he’s developed a good work ethic,” said Valley View offensive line coach Bob Skidmore. “When he was a freshman and sophomore, he was just big and tall. He used that to get things done. But now he wants to get better. You can see it in his footwork. It’s been a big difference since he was younger. He realizes how good he could be, and he wants to be better.”
Niswonger has seen improvement, but says there’s more work to be done.
“He’s got a lot of potential and upside, but he’s got to improve on his first couple steps, his hips and his power coming off the ball,” Niswonger said. “He still has some areas he can improve on.”
Niswonger said Copher reminds him of former Valley View lineman Shane Hannah, who went on to play at Michigan State and for the Dallas Cowboys in 1995.
“The light went on for Shane too, but Shane had a higher motor at this point in his high school career. Ben’s making progress; he’s coming around. He should be one of the most dominant players that we’ve had, but right now we’re still getting him to reach that potential,” Niswonger said.
Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2851 or jbombatch@coxohio.com.
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