XFL Los Angeles Xtreme
 
 
 
 
 
ALL-XFL Team
Xtreme’s Copeland and Cortez Named to All-XFL Team
April 26, 2001

STAMFORD, CT  - One makes plays. The other makes field goals. Each does so for the XFL Champion Los Angeles Xtreme. And today, both wide receiver Jeremaine Copeland and kicker Jose Cortez were named to the inaugural All-XFL team as selected by the league’s coaches and players.

The All-XFL Team is made up of 24 players, 11 each from offense and defense, one kicker and one special teams addition.

The individual accolades come on the heels of Copeland and Cortez leading the Xtreme in its 38-6 victory over the San Francisco Demons last Saturday in the first ever XFL Championship, “The Million Dollar Game.” With the win, the Xtreme’s 45-man roster split $1 million.

Copeland led the league in receptions with 67, 16 better than second-ranked Stepfret Williams of Birmingham. Copeland also finished the regular season ranked third in receiving yards (755) and fourth in receiving touchdowns (5).

“My father set me a goal the beginning of the season to be the best receiver in the league,” said Copeland. “He said I could do it. I guess I proved him right.”

Copeland topped the season off in the XFL Playoffs by scoring two touchdowns and leading the league in playoff receiving yards with 122. Copeland didn’t need those efforts to make the All-XFL team. Voting was done at the end of the regular season.

After a shaky start in which he missed three of his three of his first five field goals, Jose Cortez established himself as the most dependable kicker in the XFL finishing the regular season as the league leader in field goals made (20), field goal accuracy (80%) and points (60).

“I’m pretty excited to be honored as one of the league’s top players,” said Cortez, who played high school football in Van Nuys, CA. “I knew a lot of people didn’t think I was good enough. It’s nice to know I just proved everybody wrong.”

Cortez, a native of El Salvador, put together a seven game stretch in which he made 17 of 18 field goals including one streak of eight straight field goals made and one streak of nine straight field goals made. Both streaks set league records. Cortez also led the league in field goals made over 40 yards with seven during the regular season.

In Saturday’s, “The Million Dollar Game,” Cortez kicked four field goals for the third time this season, including a season best from 50-yards.

Cortez is expected to report to the San Francisco 49ers mini-camp this weekend in the Bay Area. Until now, Cortez's NFL experience has been limited to one game with the New York Giants in 1999.

Copeland’s agent Ivan Zigler is currently undergoing discussions with NFL teams in regards to the XFL’s leading receiver.

Jeremaine Copeland is no stranger to winning championships or individual titles. Cope helped lead the University of Tennessee to a National Title in 1999. Last season in NFL Europe, Copeland led the league in receptions while playing with the Barcelona Dragons.

Copeland also holds the record for most reception in a single game in both NFLE and the XFL. Copeland set the XFL record at the Coliseum in Week Two, making 17 catches against the Chicago Enforcers in the Xtreme’s 39-32 double overtime victory.

Conspicuously absent from the all-league selections was Xtreme quarterback Tommy Maddox, the XFL Player of the Year. Maddox led the league in touchdown passes and passing yards while directing the league’s top-ranked passing offense.

The XFL Player of the Year Award was selected by XFL coaches, general managers, and members of the media. In contrast, the All-XFL team was chosen by XFL coaches and players only.

Xtreme Head Coach Al Luginbill did not let the all-league oversights dampen the Xtreme's accomplishments this season..

“We didn’t win the popularity contest but we did win the championship,” said Coach Luginbill. “That’s what we’re here for.”

The Las Vegas Outlaws, who finished the season with the league's top-ranked defense but did not make the playoffs, led the league with seven All-XFL selections.
 
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