Minnesota’s meeting with Mississippi State on Saturday comes with a twist that goes well beyond the usual nonconference travel story. The Bulldogs are bringing a small but very familiar Vikings contingent back to the Twin Cities.
Phil Loadholt coaches Mississippi State’s offensive line. Jon Cooper serves as run game coordinator and works with the tight ends.
Brandon Fusco is on staff as an offensive line analyst. And edge rusher Amaree Williams, a Florida State transfer, is the son of former Vikings running back Moe Williams.
For Cooper, coaching was always the next step after his playing days. He grew up as the son of a high school football coach, and once Loadholt retired in 2016, Cooper pushed him toward the profession.
Loadholt had originally been interested in scouting and even interned under longtime Vikings personnel executive Paul Wiggin, who died last year. But Cooper kept after him, and the idea stuck.
“Coach Coop is the one who got me into this whole thing,” Loadholt said. “I fell in love with it and have been enjoying it ever since.”
The pair moved from job to job before eventually landing on Jeff Lebby’s staff at Mississippi State.
That connection widened after Lebby was hired in late 2023. After that season, he took his staff to the Senior Bowl to support Bulldogs players, and Steve Hutchinson was there. He ended up having lunch with Cooper and a group of football acquaintances.
Cooper and Hutchinson’s paths crossed in Minnesota and with the Tennessee Titans, and they knew each other’s families. At that lunch, Cooper asked about Hutchinson’s son. Hutchinson pulled out his phone and showed a photo of him with Luke.
Recalled Hutchinson in a phone call: “He was like, ‘Wow, he’s a big kid.’ That’s how he got on the radar.”
Luke did indeed grow into a big one at 6-3, 235 pounds. He later took an official visit to Mississippi State, with Steve and wife Landyn joining him. The former Vikings linemates spent time reliving old memories from their days together in purple.
“It was more about Luke that weekend,” Cooper said, “but we shared stories about how small of a world it is. It’s pretty cool how all of this stuff works out.”
Luke had several Division I scholarship offers from Power Four programs, and Hutchinson made a point of staying out of the way during the decision.
“I wasn’t going to be meddling,” Hutchinson said. “He’s probably looking over his shoulder enough thinking about what I’m thinking on how he’s progressing and all that.”
Still, there was comfort in knowing his son would be coached by a former teammate.
“To have guys like Coop and Phil with him every day,” Hutchinson said, “I’ve got total trust in those guys. He really loves Coop.
He’s a great coach. I feel like I can just step back and know he’s in good hands there.”
Cooper was careful to tell Luke that the relationship with his father had nothing to do with why he was there.
“Luke has earned it,” Cooper said. “A lot of people have gone through things like that, of living in the shadows. Luke is a confident kid and works for everything he has got.”
Fusco and Williams joined the program before this season, giving Mississippi State five Vikings ties in all.
Cooper has already had one return trip to Minnesota since his playing career ended. He took his son to a Vikings game two years ago and got his first look back at the new stadium.
“Got to see that new stadium,” he said.
Saturday’s game at Huntington Bank Stadium will not be unfamiliar territory for the Mississippi State assistants. The Vikings played there in 2010 after the Metrodome roof collapsed, then returned for two full seasons in 2014 and 2015 while U.S. Bank Stadium was being built.
If the schedule allows Friday night, the group may even stop by a favorite downtown restaurant. The nostalgia will be real, but only to a point once kickoff arrives.
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