RALEIGH, N.C. -- Two weeks ago, Drew Lovelace was on Indeed hunting for an “adult job.”
By Saturday, he was standing on the Carter-Finley Stadium turf, sending kickoffs into the end zone in front of nearly 60,000 people.
That kind of leap would sound made up if it weren’t exactly what happened. Lovelace, a former NC State men’s soccer standout, had spent four seasons with the Wolfpack and helped push the program to the national championship game last season. Then his soccer path hit a wall this fall.
He returned to the team on short notice under the NCAA’s new “5 for 5” rule and even played in the season opener against Coastal Carolina on Aug. 23. The next day, he was told he had been ruled ineligible and could not continue.
“I kind of thought I was over the hump, like I was gonna be eligible for the season,” Lovelace said. “And then the next day at training, I found out I was ineligible. So it was very frustrating.”
With soccer off the table, Lovelace started looking ahead. That search briefly took him to Indeed.
“I was actually like on Indeed, looking for some adult jobs,” he said. “Once I found out that soccer wasn't an option, and then it just so happened that they called me on the weekend.”
That call came from NC State football, where Dave Doeren needed help at kicker after Nick Konieczynski was injured during the Virginia game in Week 0. Lovelace became an option because he was no longer eligible for the soccer team.
He tried out the next Monday. Two weeks later, he was making his debut as the Wolfpack’s kickoff specialist against Richmond.
“I think it helped that I had no idea that I was doing the opening kickoff till 30 seconds before when we heard about the coin toss,” Lovelace said. “It all happened very fast.”
The first one could hardly have gone better. Lovelace blasted the kickoff into the end zone for a touchback, and the sideline celebration came immediately.
“It was very surreal,” Lovelace said. “When I was standing right there, I was able to kind of take away the crowd and just enjoy it. A very enjoyable experience and something I've never experienced before.”
Special teams coordinator Zac Roper pointed to the work Lovelace packed into those two weeks as the reason he was ready so quickly.
“We had two weeks, and he got over here and got to work,” Roper said. “Testament to Drew about how hard he went to work in those two weeks to go perform for himself and for Wolfpack Nation.”
Doeren was just as impressed, especially with the way Lovelace handled the moment and turned his first kickoff into a touchback.
“It’s just a unique part of what's going on, and he did a good job,” Doeren said. “He went in there and had a bunch of kickoffs, and obviously his first one was a touchback, which was huge for his psyche. ...
You're talking about a guy who's played soccer his whole life. He was in a National Championship a year ago.
Fast forward, and he's learning how to put on a football helmet, and then he's kicking in our home opener, and he kicks a touchback -- which was pretty amazing.”
The switch has not been as simple as swapping one ball for another. Lovelace said the job requires a different feel and a different technique.
“It’s very different,” Lovelace said. “It's just different contact points, different techniques, so just trying to learn it.”
Even the equipment came with a learning curve. Doeren joked after the game that Lovelace did not know how to put on a helmet, and Lovelace later clarified that the issue was the pads.
“I did put those on backwards a couple days, but I got the hang of it now,” Lovelace said. “I can get it on in two minutes, so we're good.”
As strange as the move has been, Lovelace has not lost sight of his soccer roots. He said he feels good about where he left the NC State men’s soccer program.
“I think I left the program in a pretty good place,” Lovelace said. “Just what Coach Hubbard is doing with the program and the culture is really setting up for just continued success throughout the years, and I'm glad that I was able to be a part of that.”
Now he is part of something entirely different, and he’s handling it with a sense of humor. Doeren said that has helped him navigate the abrupt change, including one exchange during the Richmond game when the coach asked if he was having fun.
“Yeah, I'm hoping I have to tackle somebody,” Lovelace replied.
Doeren laughed and answered, “I hope you don't,” he said with a laugh.
Lovelace knows the whole thing still sounds improbable. But he also knows he’s taking advantage of the chance in front of him.
“Two weeks ago you wouldn't even think that this was a possibility,” he said. “And then out of nowhere, you're playing in Carter-Finley in front of 60,000 people. Very special experience and very grateful for the opportunity.”
After four years representing NC State on the soccer field, Lovelace has found a new way to wear the Wolfpack colors. This time, it comes with a football helmet, a kickoff tee and a route that nobody could have predicted.
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