Notre Dame Football Early Signing Period | Tight End
Notre Dame is expected to land the nation’s top tight ends and the Irish did just that in De La Salle (Calif.) star Cooper Flanagan. The four-star prospect brings the full package as a receiving threat, but could help immediately with his blocking skills.
TE Cooper Flanagan
Ranking
ISD: 91 (4-star)
Composite: 91.1 (4-star)
Vitals
6-5, 240
De La Salle (Concord, California)
Recruiter
Gerad Parker
Recruitment Rundown
Flanagan originally committed to the Irish when John McNulty was still coaching tight ends in South Bend. The Irish had plenty of top tight end talent on their board and ultimately on campus, but McNulty focused in on Flanagan after meeting with several in person. After extending an offer last August, Flanagan offered his commitment a month later.
Other schools, including Oregon and Alabama, wouldn’t stop pursuing Flanagan and ramped up those efforts when McNulty left to become offensive coordinator at Boston College. But Gerad Parker came in, built a strong relationship quickly and kept Flanagan in the class.
ISD Expert Jamie Uyeyama
What a surprise that the Irish are landing another tight end with the potential to be an NFL player. There’s still a need for a guy like him who can be a plus blocker and that’s what he can be at bare minimum.
His ceiling as a blocker is much higher and he could develop into one of the top blocking tight ends in the country.
He can be much more than that, though. The skills and athleticism are there for him to be a productive intermediate threat. He reminds me a lot of Kevin Bauman with his body type and athleticism, but Flanagan is a much further ahead as a blocker than Bauman was at the same time.
Favorite ISD Quote
“Honestly, the community and how much it relates to De La Salle. The biggest thing at De La Salle is the brotherhood. It's kind of cheesy, but I kind of see that at Notre Dame, just the community.”
Columbia Green/Navy Notre Dame Fighting Irish Glennaker Storm Full-Zip
