I found out that NU hosted a secret official visitor last weekend: grad transfer OL Cooper Lovelace from USC.
He's an interesting guy. He played just one year of high school football at Shawnee Mission (Kan.) East High. He played center, guard and tackle at Butler Community College in El Dorado (Kan.) before transferring to USC. He didn't play much in LA, appearing in just seven games over the last two seasons.
Lovelace has quite a few ties to NU. His mother is an NU grad, so he's always followed NU football. His OL coach at Butler played for Bill O'Boyle when he was in college. Lovelace has also known Zach Lujan through high school recruiting. They are talking to him about playing tackle, but guard is also on the table. He's 6-5, 305.
He said his visit was "truly incredible."
Lovelace has one more year of eligibility because of his COVID year. However, he said he is currently talking to the NCAA about the possibility of one more year. He spent three years at Butler but redshirted in 2019 and didn't play in 2020 because of COVID, so he only played one year (2021). He then played the last two at USC, but played in four games or fewer both years. (I would say it sounds like a longshot, but I just don't know anymore.)
His degree is in Communications and Business. He's looking at options for a Master's program.
Lovelace said he is focusing on his finals at SC right now but plans to make a decision in the next couple weeks. He says that other schools have contacted him but didn't disclose any of them to me.
I think NU has a very good shot at landing him.
usctrojans.com
He's an interesting guy. He played just one year of high school football at Shawnee Mission (Kan.) East High. He played center, guard and tackle at Butler Community College in El Dorado (Kan.) before transferring to USC. He didn't play much in LA, appearing in just seven games over the last two seasons.
Lovelace has quite a few ties to NU. His mother is an NU grad, so he's always followed NU football. His OL coach at Butler played for Bill O'Boyle when he was in college. Lovelace has also known Zach Lujan through high school recruiting. They are talking to him about playing tackle, but guard is also on the table. He's 6-5, 305.
He said his visit was "truly incredible."
Lovelace has one more year of eligibility because of his COVID year. However, he said he is currently talking to the NCAA about the possibility of one more year. He spent three years at Butler but redshirted in 2019 and didn't play in 2020 because of COVID, so he only played one year (2021). He then played the last two at USC, but played in four games or fewer both years. (I would say it sounds like a longshot, but I just don't know anymore.)
His degree is in Communications and Business. He's looking at options for a Master's program.
Lovelace said he is focusing on his finals at SC right now but plans to make a decision in the next couple weeks. He says that other schools have contacted him but didn't disclose any of them to me.
I think NU has a very good shot at landing him.
Cooper Lovelace - Football - USC Athletics
Cooper Lovelace (62) Offensive Lineman - 2024: Lovelace will compete for playing time on the offensive line as a redshirt senior in 2024. 2023: Lovelace saw
usctrojans.com
