Four-star tight end Cooper Flanagan signs with Notre Dame
Cooper Flanagan was one of Notre Dame’s first 2023 commitments. Ironically, his geographic location made him one of the last signees the Irish could announce.
Flanagan, a four-star tight end from Concord (Calif.) De La Salle, signed his letter of intent Wednesday. He’s the No. 239 overall player and No. 14 tight end in the 2023 On3 Consensus. On3’s own rankings slot him No. 20 at his position.
The 6-foot-5, 222-pound Flanagan was the first offensive player to join Notre Dame’s 2023 class. He committed Sept. 2, 2021, choosing the Irish from an offer list that included Arizona, California, Florida State, Michigan, Michigan State, Tennessee, Utah and Washington. He added the Notre Dame offer Aug. 6 of that year. He jumped on it less than a month later. He had previously visited campus as an unoffered recruit.
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Flanagan’s recruitment didn’t end when he committed, though. Notre Dame fended off Alabama, Oregon, LSU and Miami – all of which offered Flanagan after his 2021 season. All pushed for him to varying degrees, but none succeeded in convincing him to visit.
“I appreciate it, of course,” Flanagan told BlueandGold.com this summer. “It’s an honor. But Notre Dame is Notre Dame. I don’t see how anything could change.”
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Flanagan was at Notre Dame for an official visit in June. All told, he made five trips to campus, the most recent for the Clemson game Nov. 5. He comes from the same high school program that produced Irish all-time sacks leader Isaiah Foskey.
Notre Dame will add Flanagan to a tight end unit in transition. Michael Mayer, the owner of nearly all the program’s tight end records, is off to the NFL Draft. Sophomore Cane Berrong entered the transfer portal earlier this month. Freshman Eli Raridon and junior Kevin Bauman suffered torn ACLs in the regular season. The Irish will play the Dec. 30 Gator Bowl with three healthy scholarship tight ends: sophomore Mitchell Evans, sophomore Davis Sherwood and freshman Holden Staes.
As it stands, Flanagan will be one of six scholarship tight ends on the 2023 roster. Those six have a combined 8 catches for 91 yards and 0 touchdowns in their careers. The injuries and lack of proven producers create few roadblocks for Flanagan to earn playing time if he proves worthy.
Flanagan will enroll at Notre Dame in June.
