USC officially announces addition of JUCO offensive lineman Cooper Lovelace
Offensive lineman Cooper Lovelace began his collegiate career in the JUCO ranks, playing at Butler Community College in El Dorado, Kansas. Now, Lovelace is officially heading to USC to play for Lincoln Riley and the Trojans.
USC officially announced the addition of Lovelace on Friday afternoon.
Lovelace picked up a couple of Power 5 offers before committing to USC. He held offers from Oklahoma State and Florida as well, but ultimately decided to join the Trojans.
Lovelace announced his commitment on Thursday, where he sent a heartfelt message explaining his decision.
“It has been 1077 days since I began my journey at Butler,” Lovelace said. “There have been some incredible, amazing, joyful, great, hard, painful, life-changing days with more setbacks than I would care to revisit with some VERY discouraging moments. But I overcame, outworked, and took on every obstacle that came my way. I offer my deepest gratitude to all the incredible coaches, professors, and teammates I worked with during my time at Butler.
“My family and close friends have had a big part in this and I thank them for being with me every step of the way. They always supported me and put me in the best position to be successful. Without them, I would not be where I am today.
“I would like to thank all the coaches who put their time into recruitng me. It truly means a lot and I am so grateful to them all. At the end of the day, however, only one place can be home. Therefore, I would like to thank Coach Riley, Coach Henson, and the entire staff at USC for this opportunity because today I happily announce I will be committing to the University of Southern California to continue my journey!”
Riley has added a bunch of pieces to USC’s roster since taking over in the offseason, with Lovelace the latest in a long line of impressive pickups. The Trojans are looking for a rebound after a disappointing 4-8 year in 2021.