Northwestern adds grad transfer OL Cooper Lovelace from USC

Grad transfer offensive lineman Cooper Lovelace's path to Northwestern was anything but routine.

Lovelace, who was the Wildcats' third commitment of the day on Tuesday, played just one season of high school football at Shawnee Mission (Kan.) East, then went to Butler (Kan.) Community College for three years. He spent the last two years at college football blue blood USC.

Yet that long, winding road led him to Evanston, a place he seemed destined for from the outset. His mother is a Northwestern graduate, so he's been following the Wildcats his whole life. He also has ties to offensive line coach Bill O'Boyle and offensive coordinator Zach Lujan.

So when the Wildcats reached out after Lovelace entered the transfer portal on April 22, there was immediate interest on both sides. He took a visit under the radar the next weekend with his mother and father, and from there it was an easy decision.

"Visit was truly incredible," he said via text message.

Lovelace went back to LA to take his finals at USC and get his degree in Communications and Business last weekend. Just a few days later, he officially became a Wildcat, following in the footsteps of 2025 commitments Braden Blueitt and Marquet Dorsey, who both announced their decisions earlier in the day.

Lovelace has a big personality, but his recruitment was very secretive. Very few people knew he was on campus the weekend of April 26-28. When WildcatReport got wind of it and reached out, he asked that we not make it public.

"Tried to keep it quiet, especially the way every program in the country has been on my phone," he said at the time. "So I'd appreciate it if you didn't blow that up."

He didn’t want to disclose the other programs pursuing him, either.

Even Lovelace’s commitment was low-key: he gave the program his verbal "a couple days" before he announced it on Tuesday.

Most of Lovelace's career has been quiet, too. He focused on wrestling and played just one year of football at Shawnee Mission East. But his size and talent was evident, even if he was raw.

It was in high school that Lovelace first came in contact with Lujan, who was an assistant at South Dakota State at the time and recruited him for a bit.

Lovelace then spent three years at Butler Community College in El Dorado, Kan, but only played on year of football. He redshirted in 2019, and the 2020 fall season got canceled by COVID (they played a six-game spring season).

Another tie to a Northwestern coach was built at Butler, where Lovelace's offensive line coach was Nate Haremza. Haremza played his college football at Southern Illinois, where he was coached by -- you guessed it -- O'Boyle.

"I've known [O'Boyle] for five years," said Lovelace.

Lovelace had a breakout 2021 season at Butler and the volume on his recruitment went up in a hurry. With three years of eligibility remaining due to his free COVID year, he drew scholarship offers from Florida, Oklahoma State, Iowa State and Kansas, among others. He eventually committed to USC after an official visit.

But the fairy tale ending got derailed a bit in Los Angeles. Lovelace didn't see much playing time, appearing in just seven games over the last two seasons.

At Northwestern, he has the chance to put it back on track. The Wildcats need depth everywhere on the line, especially at tackle. They went through spring practice with just eight healthy blockers. This summer, they will bring in transfers Jack Bailey, Matt Keeler and Lovelace to help bolster the front line.

Lovelace said that O'Boyle has talked to him about playing several different positions, but the biggest need is at tackle. Lovelace is 6-foot-5 and 305 pounds, so he has the length to potentially play on the outside.

"[I'll] more than likely [play] tackle, but guard is in the conversation," he said.

Lovelace bills himself as "the most flexible big man you have ever seen" in his X bio, and he has a viral clip to back up that claim.

Lovelace knows fully well what kind of situation he is going into.

"On my visit it was able to watch a good two hours of film…to get a good look behind the scenes," he said. "Room is thin for sure."

Lovelace has one more year of eligibility left "for sure," but says he is working with the NCAA about the possibility of one additional year. He says it's "50/50 on [two years]. That is a compliance question I am still working on them with, so unsure."

Whether it's one year or two, Lovelace's mom is certainly happy about the way things worked out. She graduated from Northwestern in 1986 and worked as an operating room nurse for years before becoming a medical consultant. Lovelace said the visit was a trip down memory lane for her.

"She definitely had fun on that visit," Lovelace said.

Now, Mrs. Lovelace will be able to take a few more trips to watch her son wear the same name on his chest that he had as an infant.