Notre Dame Continuing To Build A Connection With 2023 Commit Cooper Flanagan

Don’t look now, Notre Dame has secured the commitment of yet another talented tight end to continue its storied tradition at the position - this time in the form of Concord (Calif.) De La Salle standout Cooper Flanagan. The 2023 tight end is from the same high school that produced current Notre Dame star Isaiah Foskey.

Flanagan ranks as the nation's No. 100 overall player and is the No. 7 tight end according to 247Sports. He hauled in 15 passes for 285 yards while playing in the triple option style offense for the Spartans.

The 6-5, 240-pound tight end made his commitment to the Fighting Irish on September 2nd, sitting as one of just two offensive commits in the class along with Florida running back Sedrick Irvin Jr. The fit for the highly regarded tight end shouldn’t take anyone by surprise with his De La Salle background, something Flanagan emphasized.

“Notre Dame really fits me well," Flanagan explained. "De La Salle is very similar to Notre Dame, on the smaller side, good connection with staff and teachers and very tight with coaches.”

Flanagan’s relationship and commitment have remained in tact through a coaching change, in part because of new head coach Marcus Freeman.

“Coach Freeman is a great person and fantastic football coach,” Flanagan said. “His players love playing for him. It was a great move for Notre Dame.”

A part of the continued growth of the relationship, other Notre Dame coaches have also been valuable in ensuring the interest for the California product.

“Coach (John) McNulty and I text a ton, Coach (Tommy) Rees and Freeman call and text me as well. I hear from Coach (Chad) Bowden too,” said Flanagan. “There is always a Notre Dame coach checking in on me. It is a really nice connection, I appreciate all their check ins and really like all the handwritten letters; it’s super cool.”

Clearly the staff is doing everything right, especially important during the midst of a coaching change. While coaches were retained from the Brian Kelly era, getting recruits to buy in to a new way of thinking can be tricky.

A common denominator for Flanagan’s recruitment has been visiting the Notre Dame campus. Even after comparing the Notre Dame atmosphere to other institutions, the initial impression of the Fighting Irish stuck firm.

“I did my first visit this past summer, I really enjoyed the trip," explained the four-star tight end. "I connected really well with Coach McNulty, loved the campus and the athletic facilities .... I did several visits this summer to other schools after Notre Dame and still felt like it was a great fit.”

Outside of the tradition, the job Notre Dame has done developing the tight end position speaks for itself. Whether it's current star Michael Mayer, or recent standouts like Tyler Eifert and Cole Kmet, or even further back to former All-Americans like Irv Smith Sr., Derek Brown and Dave Casper.

The allure of “Tight End U” was something that clearly meant a lot to Flanagan.

“The tight end position at Notre Dame is unique,” Flanagan noted. “It is definitely TEU. The way they use their tight ends, with 12 and 13 personnel definitely made an impact on my decision, along with the overall fit of the school and coaching staff .... Seeing so many Notre Dame tight ends successful at the next level is exciting.”

The deal isn’t closed for early commitments. For a player of Flanagan’s caliber, suitors are going to come from all over. It’s the coach’s job to court, continue to strike the right chords and close.

“I am pretty firm at this point,” said Flanagan. “I have a few trips with my 7-on-7 team this summer and we will most likely visit a few schools. I may plan another one or two visits this summer, plus an Alabama visit as well.”

Including amongst those planned visits, Flanagan also intends to get back to South Bend. Continuing to sell the vision of the new regime will be paramount.

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