Former William & Mary standout free safety Jerome Couplin III was recently honored as a Hammer Strength All-American by the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association.
Couplin was one of just 19 student-athletes to garner the national honor, which included a distinguished list of both male and female collegiate student-athletes from various sports.
“This is a very well-deserved award for Jerome, and he is in elite company with this group of student-athletes,” said John Sauer, a certified speed, strength and conditioning coach. “He is a tireless worker, and this honor is attributed to his hard work during the last five years at the College.”
One of the nation’s elite defensive backs, Couplin signed a free agent contract with the Detroit Lions this spring. En route to inking the professional deal, he earned first-team All-America honors from the Associated Press, The Sports Network, Walter Camp Football Foundation, College Sporting News and Phil Steele as a senior. Additionally, the first-team all-conference selection was chosen as a finalist for the Buchanan Award, which honors the nation’s best Football Championship Subdivision defensive player each season.
Couplin, a team captain, led the Colonial Athletic Association and ranked 10th nationally with 5.8 solo tackles per game last fall. Additionally, the Upper Marlboro, Md., native ranked third in the CAA with 9.4 tackles per game – a figure that led the league among defensive backs.
In addition to leading the team with 113 tackles (70 solo), the two-time All-CAA honoree recorded two forced fumbles, 2.5 tackles for a loss, six PBU’s and two forced fumbles. Couplin also returned a fumble 51 yards for a touchdown in the win at Delaware en route to earning CAA Defensive Player of the Week honors.
A three-year starter, Couplin finished his career with 257 total tackles (158 solo), five interceptions, 21 passes defended, five forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and 4.5 tackles for a loss.
