Pat Coogan: Notre Dame Guy
Pat Coogan had to show patience during recruitment as his dream school, Notre Dame, didn’t offer immediately. In fact, the Irish offered somewhat late as Michigan, Oregon, and Stanford beat Notre Dame to the punch.
Notre Dame did come through with the offer, prompting LSU, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Texas A&M to enter the race within days of the offer from the Irish.
Coogan knew where he wanted to go and committed to the Irish three weeks after receiving his offer and it’s one of the reasons he stayed at Notre Dame in 2024 after losing his starting job during fall camp.
“It was really hard,” Coogan stated. “It’s been quite a journey, but my love for this university is so much stronger than any personal goal or accolade or representation of my own self. This offensive line, this offense, this team, this program. I’ve been die-hard since I was five years old, so I’m living out my dream right now, and obviously, it’s better living it out on the field.
“It sucked, but I knew for sure that I was a huge part of this team. I just had to keep my head up. It was hard, it was very hard. I had an amazing support system.”
The game of football has a way of giving coaches, players and programs a series of ups and downs. Coogan had his downs a month ago, and that included some soul-searching in the middle of fall camp.
“Losing the position was a major down,” explained Coogan. “There's been some dark moments, some negativity, just like “shit”, you know? It sucks, but I told myself I was going to come to the building with a positive attitude every day no matter what position I was in. I’m a firm believer in everything happening for a reason, so I took it in stride and now we're here.”
Human nature is to be angry and shut down. No one would blame Coogan if he distanced himself, but he didn’t.
“The competitive nature in me kept me engaged, and it was a personal decision that I was going to stay engaged, stay ready, and help those guys every day,” Coogan said. “It was a personal decision. When we were out on the practice field, it was the competitor in me that kept me going, kept me engaged, and kept me teaching those guys because as a veteran I’ve earned the opportunity to help those guys and teach those guys.”
The 6-foot-5, 310-pounder now finds himself back in the starting rotation as center Ashton Craig went down with a season-ending injury on during Saturday’s win over Purdue.
Now, Coogan isn’t happy with Craig's injury, but he also knows he can’t dwell on it, as that will not win games for Notre Dame.
Coogan moved back to center during fall camp after starting his career in the blue and gold in the middle. The offense is different, but Coogan is confident he’ll be able to communicate and get the job done.
“I think it starts with communication,” Coogan stated. “Quarterback communication is always first, then it’s inside out. I have to be spot-on with my communication. I have to talk to those guys and I have to be clean and crisp with how I pronounce it.
“It’s been a smooth transition so far. I have been cross-training ever since fall camp at both positions. I’m really confident with where my games at. I know the more snaps that I’m going to get, the better I will be for those guys.”
The Chicagoland native isn’t the only starter from a year ago who finds himself back in the starting lineup as classmate Rocco Spindler will fill in for Billy Schrauth, who will miss a few weeks with an ankle injury.
Coogan and Spindler have worked in practice next to each other, so there is a familiarity there, but also a bond from the hours of time spent on FaceTime with Blake Fisher during their recruiting processes.
“We have great chemistry, stated Coogan. “We were competing for a time there, but competition breeds the best in everybody. It was an iron sharpens iron type of deal. We’re great friends. We’ve been here together since day one. We’ve played a lot of ball together.
“I played ball next to him for two years as we grew up as freshmen and sophomores. It’s easy. He’s a really smart football player, a physical football player. He knows what I’m about to do, I know what he’s about to do, so it’s going to be really fun.”
Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock was quick to highlight Coogan and Spindler’s love for Notre Dame, but also staying prepared for a moment such as Saturday.
“Two guys who just love Notre Dame, love their teammates, have never wavered, have never not prepared themselves the proper way,” said Denbrock. “Fortunately and unfortunately, the opportunity arose, and they get in the game. “I don't think you saw much of a blip on the radar screen with what they were able to do and how they were able to perform. That's a credit to those guys.”
If you’ve watched Notre Dame run out of the tunnel during pregame warmups this season, Coogan is the one giving the passionate speech before the offensive line comes out. And Saturday’s might hit a little different.
“It is something I’ve started to do before every game,” said Coogan. “We’ve done it since I’ve been here. We break down the O-Line before we go out to snap with the QBs. I think it was ‘60 minutes for the rest of your life’ or something along those lines. ‘Physical ball game.’ I kind of blacked out. I think I saw the video of it. We do end it on a curse word, which is tradition. I didn’t start that.”
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