Coples reflects on rookie season with Jets

Coming back to Kinston this weekend will be the last local hoorah for New York Jets’ lineman Quinton Coples before he moves into his sophomore season in the NFL.

Coples, drafted No. 16 overall by the Jets out of UNC last year, looks to become a production leader this season. He was a defensive end his rookie year, but media reports out of New York have him playing some outside linebacker this season.

Playing in all 16 games last season, he had 22 solo tackles (30 combined). Coples recorded 3.5 of his 5.5 total sacks in the final four games of the season as the Jets went 6-10 overall.

“My expectations are very high,” Coples said of Year 2.  “I think we can be as good as we want to be. I think we’re coming together, despite what the media says or what anyone says.”

Coples transitioned from a tiny media market in Kinston to a mid-size one in Chapel Hill to the largest in the world after being drafted by the Jets. He said the media in New York is “straight forward,” but he couldn’t help but notice the frenzy sparked when the Jets acquired quarterback Tim Tebow from the Denver Broncos last season.

“I think (the media circus) went up 10 times more when Tim came in,” Coples said. “They always wanted to talk to him.”

He said staying positive is the best way to deal with the Big Apple media.  

“I think it’s a great thing because it puts you out there,” Coples said. “It can help you, but it can also hurt you later on.”

He said working with the media and learning a new playbook and role with the Jets were his biggest transitions from Chapel Hill to New York. While he wasn’t sure what to expect as he took his inaugural steps in MetLife Stadium, he said he was used to the tempo after attending an ACC school with a solid football program — advice he’ll share with New York rookies this season.

“I think (the) mental part of growing up and maturing very fast is something that I will preach,” Coples said. “It can be done.”

According to the New York Post, the budding Coples will be a key part of the Jets’ 2013 defense.

“We’re pleased with what he’s done,” defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman told the Post. “He looks like, from the beginning of OTAs up until now, he’s probably one of two or three guys that have made the biggest strides. … You’re starting to see him run to the ball and do some things that we knew he could do a year ago, and we saw flashes of it a year ago, but now you’re seeing them on a more consistent basis.”

Thurman said the coaches are recognizing the athleticism of Coples, who’s playing again for head coach Rex Ryan. While fans only get to see the Jets head coach in front of cameras after games, Coples described him as a “great guy.”   

“Some coaches, they coach and then they go into their office,” Coples said. “He’s upfront; he’ll teach you right there at the moment. I think that what defines him as a great coach (is) the fact he never stops.”

And Coples can understand such passion, as he refuses to let the bright lights and big city distract him from the most important piece of his life: his hometown of Kinston.

He said he plans to bring Quinton Coples Community Weekend to the town each year.

“Kinston is me,” the former Kinston High School student said. “Kinston is my heart; it’s where I was born and raised. At the end of the day, there’s no other city or no other place in America that could take my love away from it.”

Sure, he’s a New York Jet, and he said that’s one of his only focuses in NYC.

“That city life really isn’t my specialty,” Coples said. “New York City is very good, but I’m a country boy at heart.”

Jessika Morgan can be reached at 252-559-1078 and Jessika.Morgan@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessikaMorgan.