When Notre Dame offered Cooper Flanagan a scholarship Aug. 6, it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that he’d end up committing to Notre Dame.
Flanagan made his public pledge to the Fighting Irish Sept. 2, ending his recruitment very early in the process. He informed the Irish coaching staff of his decision Aug. 26, two days before he would play his first snap as a junior in high school. For Flanagan, it was simple. Why wait?
“I knew where I wanted to go,” he told BlueandGold.com. “I honestly didn’t think the offer would come this soon.”
The four-star class of 2023 tight end from Concord (Calif.) De La Salle has Irish heritage, and the Flanagan last name is the 69th most common last name in Ireland, per Wikipedia, after all.
“My family and I knew that if Notre Dame offered, then I’d likely commit,” Flanagan added. “It is my dream school. I knew deep down that I wanted to go to Notre Dame.
“The combination of academics and athletics, the tradition they have there, the brotherhood and it’s similar to De La Salle — all of that played a big part.
Flanagan jumped on Zoom call with Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly, Tommy Rees, John McNulty and Dre Brown to inform them of his decision. It was far from a surprise that Flanagan called to commit, but that didn’t stop the staff from being excited.
“They were fired up,” Flanagan said. “Coach McNulty knew that it was what I wanted to do, but everyone was still really happy.”
Flanagan visited Notre Dame in June and met Rees, and they hit it off right away. He’s also built a strong connection with Brown, who serves as Notre Dame’s director of offensive recruiting, in the past few weeks.
The 6-6, 240-pounder’s closest relationship is with McNulty, who will be his tight ends coach. McNulty started recruited Flanagan around early April, and they built their bond well before Notre Dame even offered Flanagan.
“He’s definitely an honest guy, which I appreciate and like,” Flanagan said of McNulty. “He’s a really good guy. I like how honest he is with me, and he’s a cool guy overall.”
Notre Dame’s tight end tradition speaks for itself and was a key factor in Flanagan’s decision.
“That’s definitely one of the biggest reasons I picked Notre Dame,” he added. “Their production of tight ends they have now and that are in the NFL — it’s amazing.”
Rivals ranks Flanagan as a four-star prospect, the No. 18 player in California and the No. 17 tight end in the country.
Flanagan also held scholarship offers from Arizona, California, Colorado, Michigan, Michigan State, San Jose State, Tennessee, Utah and Washington.
He comes from the same high school program that produced junior Notre Dame defensive end Isaiah Foskey. De La Salle was listed at No. 14 in the MaxPreps Top 25 rankings that were updated Aug. 30.
De La Salle also produced former Irish offensive tackle Aaron Taylor (1990-93) and defensive lineman Derek Landri (2002-06).
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