Utah State senior tight end Chris Copier, who made a modest on-field contribution for the Aggies last season, has been suspended from the team following drug and weapons charges.
Copier was charged Monday in 1st District Court with six counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute plus an additional count of distribution or arranging to distribute a controlled substance.
The crimes are second- and third-degree felonies. The former carries a potential prison sentence of one to 15 years, The latter carry sentences of zero to five years.
The Cache-Rich Drug Task Force made multiple controlled buys from Copier, Logan Police Capt. Tyson Budge said. On Friday afternoon, they stopped him in a vehicle and allegedly found a quarter-pound of marijuana and 46 ecstasy pills inside.
When police searched his home in northwest Logan, officers also found a handgun, about $1,600 in cash, and more drugs, including marijuana, mushrooms and Xanex, Budge said. The Xanex was "all packaged up for sale," he added.
Copier is currently free on $55,000 bail.
Last season, Copier played in 10 games. But he caught only one pass — a 35-yarder on the first play of an eventual 58-27 victory over Wyoming.
This coming season, it appeared Copier would be no better than Utah State's No. 3 tight behind senior Wyatt Houston, sophomore Dax Raymond and others, perhaps.
A 2009 graduate of Bingham High School, Copier enrolled at BYU but redshirted his first season. After a two-year LDS Church mission in Hawaii, Copier enrolled at Snow College.
As a sophomore for the Badgers, he caught 21 passes for 354 yards and one touchdown. The team finished 8-2 and was ranked eighth in the county among junior colleges.
— Steve Luhm