New USC football transfer offensive lineman receives No. 1 247Sports ranking

247Sports ranked the Junior College transfer portal guys this past weekend, and USC football JUCO O-Lineman pickup from the transfer portal--Cooper Lovelace--received quite the favorable ranking. Lovelace was ranked as the No. 1 interior offensive lineman in the nation for JUCO players.

It's not all that surprising when realizing that Lovelace has quite the baseline level of athleticism that's evidenced in his insane flexibility, and adding on the fact that he most certainly has the size too. Lovelace is 6-5, 320 pounds. The Butler Community College (Prairie Village, Kansas) big man was rated as a three-star transfer.

In addition, Lovelace was ranked as the No. 4 JUCO OL recruit in general. He was listed as the No. 5 JUCO prospect coming out of Kansas, and the No. 19 JUCO prospect in America.

Is Lovelace going to see the field a ton in 2022? Probably not. But these rankings do go to show that he's no lowly pickup. He is clearly a necessary depth piece. Injuries happen in college football, especially to offensive linemen. It's important to have viable backup options, and that's what Lovelace can develop into this fall.

USC football was not the only notable program that offered Cooper Lovelace.

Florida, and not just USC football, was another strong program to offer Cooper Lovelace. Oklahoma State offered him too, which was of course interesting as well, as they had a very good season last year. It all goes to show that he was indeed highly sought after.

He'll have three years of eligibility left, giving him plenty of time to make an impact with the Trojans. There will likely be at least one spot open in the interior in 2023, so he'll have a chance at significant playing time by Year 2.

For now, he has the chance to learn behind LG Andrew Vorhees (only allowed one sack in 2021), C Brett Neilon (allowed zero sacks in 2021), and RG Justin Dedich (third-highest graded Guard in Pac-12 by PFF). That's not such a bad situation to be in.