Notre Dame TE Cooper Flanagan Looking to Expand Offensive Role in 2024
Cooper Flanagan may not be a household name among all Notre Dame fans yet, but as the sophomore tight end continues to develop and with some injuries in the tight end room, he is poised to hear his number called more often this fall.
The 6-foot-6, 257-pound tight end played in all 13 games for the Irish in 2023, but was primarily used as a run blocker, a role he was extremely effective in. His lone catch of the season was a 19-yard touchdown reception in a 58-7 blowout victory against Pitt.
Heading into 2024, Flanagan is looking to expand his role in both the running and passing games.
“Obviously definitely more of the run game last year, but I think trying to expand the pass game, learning from (new tight ends coach/offensive coordinator Mike) Denbrock has been great, being able to get more practice reps in the pass game has been great,” Flanagan said.
“I think that just ties into route-running and obviously speed. So I think that just kind of goes hand-in-hand with strength and conditioning. Hips were something I wanted to open up a good amount just for getting in and out of breaks, which was kind of the main focus.”
The Pleasant Hill, Calif., native is already in a tight end room loaded with talent, with Mitchell Evans being an elite pass catcher in the offense. With Evans coming off a torn ACL last season, it could mean more opportunities in game and certainly more reps in practice.
“We got some dudes,” Evans said. “I’ve always known that we’re deep. It’s Notre Dame.”
“I think our room is super close. I love everyone,” Flanagan said. “On the field, we all compete and it's a battle at the end of the day, but we all go back in the locker room, we all love each other. We're all brothers. It just makes it way more fun, way more exciting.”
With Denbrock returning to South Bend, Flanagan had to adjust and learn a new offensive playbook between his freshman and sophomore years.
But with eight months to learn, Flanagan has gotten more comfortable within the Denbrock system.
“It's just kind of brand new,” Flanagan said. “I think I had kind of put myself in a great position in spring to get a lot of reps and do all that and kind of get really comfortable with it. And then over the offseason, just like really dialing in on some stuff that maybe I wasn't sure on, making sure I was really comfortable with everything.”
That said, sometimes it’s not the best to feel relaxed, and that’s something Flanagan is well aware of.
“I think totally comfortable, I don't know, I just don't know if that's totally possible,” Flanagan said. “There's always something to improve on. Obviously I'm very comfortable with a lot of run plays, obviously a lot of pass plays. But like you're never really totally comfortable with anything.”
Notre Dame’s defense certainly isn’t making things comfortable for Flanagan so far in fall camp — which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
“It definitely can be a lot. It definitely can be stressful, especially our defense, seeing them every day,” Flanagan said. “They kind of know what we're doing, and they throw a lot at us. It definitely prepares us. It can get intense and confusing at times. Once you kind of see one, you kind of pick more up, you get used to it.”
We’ll have to wait a few more weeks to truly see Flanagan’s development as a sophomore, especially in the passing game, but he’s saying all the right things through the first week of fall camp.