Buffs Beat

Colorado Buffaloes Gain Transfer Portal Commitment From Ex-Northwestern Offensive Lineman

On Friday, the Colorado Buffaloes and coach Deion Sanders picked up a transfer portal commitment from offensive lineman Cooper Lovelace, who began his career at the junior college level before spending time with the USC Trojans and Northwestern Wildcats.
Jack Carlough|
Oct 19, 2024; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Colorado Buffalos head coach Deion Sanders against the Arizona Wildcats at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Oct 19, 2024; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Colorado Buffalos head coach Deion Sanders against the Arizona Wildcats at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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Colorado BuffaloesNorthwestern WildcatsUSC Trojans

Depth shouldn't be an issue within coach Deion Sanders' revamped offensive line.

On Friday, the Colorado Buffaloes picked up their ninth offensive lineman from the transfer portal this offseason as Cooper Lovelace announced his commitment. Lovelace played his first three post-high school seasons at Butler Community College (2019-21) in Kansas before spending two years with the USC Trojans (2022-23) and one with the Northwestern Wildcats (2024). The three-star transfer (per247Sports) is a seventh-year senior who benefited from the NCAA's recent ruling that granted former junior college players an extra year of eligibility.

Lovelace played in 11 games at Northwestern last season, including nine starts at left guard, and allowed only one sack. He also has great size for an interior offensive lineman at 6-foot-5, 315 pounds.

Nov 19, 2022; Pasadena, California, USA; Southern California Trojans defensive lineman Solomon Byrd (51) and offensive linema
Nov 19, 2022; Pasadena, California, USA; Southern California Trojans defensive lineman Solomon Byrd (51) and offensive lineman Cooper Lovelace (71) celebrate with the victory bell at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

During his first season at USC in 2022, Lovelace saw 22 total snaps at left and right guard across three games. In 2024, he saw minimal action in four games at right tackle and right guard. Lovelace was the highest-ranked junior college transfer interior offensive lineman in 2022, per 247Sports.

Lovelace entered the transfer portal on April 25 following one season at Northwestern and visited the South Carolina Gamecocks on May 2 before ultimately committing to the Buffs on Friday.

Other transfer portal offensive linemen who've joined the Buffs this offseason include Larry Johnson III (Tennessee Volunteers), Andre Roye Jr. (Maryland Terrapins), Walker Andersen (UCLA Bruins), Xavier Hill (Memphis Tigers), Zarian McGill (Louisiana Tech Bulldogs), Zylon Crisler (Illinois Fighting Illini), Mana Taimani (Ole Miss Rebels) and Aki Ogunbiyi (Texas A&M Aggies). Left tackle Jordan Seaton will likely be the only returning player on Colorado's starting offensive line come Week 1.

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Colorado's offensive line is led by a three-man coaching tandem of Gunnar White, Andre Gurode and George Hegamin. In March, White spoke on what he's looking for in transfer portal offensive linemen.

"Athletes and size, right?" White said. "In order to run the ball, not only do you have to be powerful, but you have to be athletic, too, to change up the schemes if you want to pull a guard or pull a tackle or whatnot. And then we try to get length on the edge, too. My philosophy is that if you get tackles, tackles can easily screw down inside. They can go for guards. You don't see 6-foot-6 people just walking around the Earth anyway. They are hard to find, much less that are strong and are fast and have great bend and can run, too. That is part of the molding and development part of it."

The Buffs also picked up a commitment from former North Alabama linebacker Shaun Myers on Friday, giving "Coach Prime" 32 incoming transfers. According to 247Sports, Colorado's transfer class still ranks No. 19 nationally and No. 2 in the Big 12 Conference.

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Jack Carlough
JACK CARLOUGH

Jack Carlough is lead reporter for Colorado Buffaloes on SI. Jack graduated from the University of Colorado with a bachelor's degree in journalism and minors in business and sports media. Born and raised in the Boulder area, Jack began covering Colorado athletics in 2018 and was the head sports editor of the CU Independent during his college career. More recently, he spent over three years as the managing editor of the USA Today Sports Network's Colorado Buffaloes Wire, where he covered Colorado's hiring of head football coach Deion Sanders. Other publications Jack has written for include the Boulder Daily Camera, Left Hand Valley Courier and SB Nation’s Ralphie Report. In 2022, the Colorado Press Association awarded Jack second place in its annual Class 5 Best Sports Column Writing category.

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