Early Years
Koppen was born in Dubuque, Iowa, but attended Whitehall High School in Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the state. The school was one of 11 high schools in the highly-regarded East Penn Conference (now known as the 12-school Lehigh Valley Conference), a high school league that has produced a number of NCAA and NFL football players. At Whitehall, Koppen was a three-sport athlete, lettering in football, basketball, and track and field. As a junior in football, he was a second-team all-conference selection as an offensive lineman and defensive end. As a senior, he earned all-area, All-East Penn Conference, and all-state honors, and was named the Defensive MVP in the 1997 Kaylee Rotary Bowl. He was also a Prep Star All-American and a Big 33 selection in 1998, his senior season, recording 10 sacks on defense and scoring eight touchdowns on offense. He played in the 1998 McDonald's Lehigh Valley All-Star Classic.
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