Isaiah Coppage had his choices of schools where he could be on full scholarship, but in the end he wanted to stay close to home and play for Kansas.

Coppage, a wide receiver from Bishop Miege, grew up in the Kansas City area and has watched the KU program go through tough times. But after watching the team win six games and appear in a bowl he saw a lot of growth.

“Going off the fact that I've seen Kansas my entire life and seen them struggle and my family's always been talking about me going there to help be a part of the building process and putting them on top where they should be,” he said.

Coppage passed up other opportunities and one of the reasons was the feeling he got after taking several visits to Lawrence.

“It was just the environment of being in Lawrence, the people, not being too far away from home, having the outlets that I would have,” he said. “It just felt like home. So that was really the big piece of it.”

When Coppage went on his visits to Kansas, one of the things that caught his attention was how close the players were.

“Just seeing them walk around and how close they were with each other,” he said. “When they were practicing for the bowl game, it was a hard practice, but they all seemed to be really close. They were putting in that work and supporting each other. I got to go to the KU basketball game versus Indiana. That was my first time being in the Fieldhouse and it was just electric and I've never been around anything like it.”

Wide receivers coach Terrence Samuel and offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki visited Bishop Miege. Samuel went over the offense with him on his visit and he could feel the attention he got from the staff.

“They were really pressing hard on how they wanted me and everything and what they were going to do with me,” Coppage said. “Coach Samuel talked about football and life and everything. He showed me the ropes of how KU football has played and I really got to dissect his brain to see how he thought. And it was really just a good connection with the whole staff.”

This season Coppage turned in big numbers catching 84 passes for 1309 yards and 17 touchdowns. He helped Bishop Miege to class 4A state title. He was rewarded with his performance winning the Otis Taylor Award, given to the best wide receiver/tight in Kansas City.

“It was really fulfilling because me and my family, we've always talked about the Otis Taylor trophy,” he said. “We've always had in our mind that I could be the best. And just to have it solidified with that trophy.”

After the season was over Coppage had surgery on his knee. He has been going through rehab and is ahead of schedule. When he returns, he wants to be improved after the surgery.

“I'm progressing really, really fast,” he said. “My trainer was saying this is the fastest he's ever seen anyone progress. And I'm just putting a lot of work, a lot of time into my right knee at training and at home. It's a continuous grind, getting a lot of rest, icing, taking my medication, just doing everything I can to get back to where I was and even better.”