Baylor Adds Veteran OL Cooper Lovelace Late in Portal

On Tuesday, offensive linemen recruit Cooper Lovelace signed with Baylor and is set to join the team for Spring ball as soon as possible. Baylor will be Cooper Lovelace's fourth Power Four team, and he will utilize that coveted last year of eligibility at Baylor. Lovelace is listed as being six feet five inches tall and weighing 320 pounds. He played a lot of left guard at Northwestern, but did play center in his time in community college.

BREAKING: Colorado transfer IOL Cooper Lovelace has signed with Baylor, @PeteNakos reports🐻https://t.co/kSYG7dYADj pic.twitter.com/h3TjSAPsjV
— Transfer Portal (@TransferPortal) March 30, 2026

Lovelace began his collegiate career as a highly rated JUCO prospect in 2022, joining USC. After the 2022 season, he transferred to Northwestern, where he played left guard during the 2024 season. He only allowed one sack for Northwestern that season. The following spring, he transferred to Colorado, but suffered an undisclosed injury during spring ball leading up to the 2025 season. Lovelace now joins Baylor as his fourth Power Four team.

Pretty crazy journey so far for former Northwestern OL Cooper Lovelace:

2019: JUCO, Redshirt
2020: JUCO, COVID cancels season
2021: JUCO, played at Butler Community College
2022: USC, 3 games played
2023: USC, 4 games played
2024: Northwestern, 11 games played
2025: Colorado https://t.co/bAMj8MUIRP
— Gavin Dorsey (@gjdorsey7) May 31, 2025

Cooper finds Baylor late in the transfer portal. He is a timely addition for the Bears, who feel a little shorthanded at offensive line and especially the interior offensive line after losing their two best offensive linemen, right guard Omar Aigbedion to graduation and center Colton Price to the transfer portal.

Who will start for the Bears in 2026?

It is unknown how healthy Cooper Lovelace is as he joins the Bears. It is definitely expected that Lovelace will be able to play for the Bears in the fall. It will be interesting to see who will start for the Bears at the guard position, as it is a diverse group of players with different levels of talent and experience. You have a mix of transfers all seeking to play, names like Nate Kibble, Lawson Petty, and Asher Hale, who all fall into this category. Along with these portal additions, there is also Koltin Sieracki, who has been with the program for three years now and is ready to step in and contribute.

baylor football — The Baylor Offensive Line preparing for the 2025 season | Via Baylor Athletics

While there is no clear starter now, there is clear competition ongoing across the interior offensive line, which can only be a good thing for a group that lacked fight at times last year. New offensive line coach Austin Woods has his hands full with this group, which has so much relying on them and their production in the 2026 season. The offensive line continues to be this team's biggest question, especially when talking about the offense and the ceilings it can reach with new quarterback DJ Lagway.