2021 OL Pat Coogan Enjoys Lineman's Challenge

Pat Coogan‍ had always wanted to participate in a showcase camp at Notre Dame and on Saturday, the 2021 offensive lineman from Illinois had the chance as a part of the Irish’s Lineman’s Challenge.

“It was awesome,” the 6-foot-4.5, 275-pounder said. “It was an awesome-run camp. The coaches were so great. It was great to work under the players. I had Liam Eichenberg working my group. That was super cool. The drills were really good, teaching good fundamentals and everything. It was awesome.”

The Marist High School standout has several offers from schools like Illinois, Duke, Syracuse and Cincinnati among others. He felt good about his performance on Saturday.

“I think I did really well in the one-on-one drills and my pass pro,” he said. “I was working at right guard and left guard. I think I did good there and in some of the pulling drills we did. I showed my athleticism. (Notre Dame offensive line coach Jeff) Quinn was very encouraging and motivating.

“He was just teaching us fundamentals and how Notre Dame plays offensive line. He was throwing out jokes about how offensive linemen are lions and are going to eat their prey. He’s just a great guy. I would love to be able to work underneath him.”

Prior to the camp, Coogan told Irish Sports Daily an offer from Notre Dame would be “a dream come true” and he hopes to continue the recruiting process with the Irish moving forward.

“I hope to come back a couple of times,” he said. “I want to stay engaged with these coaches, Coach Quinn and Coach (Tom) Rees, who recruits my area. It would be awesome to come back to campus for a game in the fall.”

Even though the Chicagoan has been to South Bend several times, he took advantage of the trip to check things out once again.

“We got there pretty early, so we took a nice drive around campus and saw the new buildings,” said Coogan. “I know they’re building a new indoor facility right by the LaBar Center, where we had our practice. That’s super cool. We were just driving around the downtown area. It was super nice. We went to the Bookstore, me and my dad and that was awesome. The campus was just great. I love the campus.”

He also camped at Wisconsin and Northwestern earlier this month, but that’s it.

“Today was my last camp. I’m definitely going to start focusing on my team and working on my craft to win a state championship.”