Notre Dame scored its first offensive commitment in the 2023 class on Thursday, when Concord (Calif.) De La Salle tight end Cooper Flanagan announced his pledge to the Fighting Irish.
“It’s the tradition they have, and it’s kind of like my high school,” Flanagan recently told BlueandGold.com about his high Notre Dame interest. “There’s such a brotherhood and everyone is so close.”
Flanagan received his Notre Dame scholarship offer Aug. 6, after a few months of building a relationship with Irish tight ends coach John McNulty. Flanagan visited Notre Dame’s campus in June and loved his experience. At that point, it was clear that if Notre Dame offered Flanagan, he would end up choosing the Irish.
“It’s a great honor; I’m super excited,” he said after receiving his Notre Dame offer. “It means a ton to me, honestly. If they haven’t been my No. 1, they’ve always been one of my favorite schools out of every college since I was a kid.”
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.
In a four-game spring season in 2021, Flanagan caught six passes for 80 yards on his very limited targets in a run-heavy offense.
“We run the ball a lot so I can’t show off how much more I can do, but I’ll have more opportunities to catch the ball this season,” Flanagan said. “De La Salle has made me a way better blocker. I think I’m a true tight end; I can block, catch, run routes and do it all.”
Flanagan is Notre Dame’s fourth overall commitment in the 2023 class, joining safety Adon Shuler and defensive ends Keon Keeley and Brenan Vernon.
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.
----
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue & Gold Illustrated.
• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
• Sign up for Blue & Gold's news alerts and daily newsletter.
• Subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts.
• Follow us on Twitter: @BGINews, @Rivals_Singer, @PatrickEngel_, @tbhorka and @ToddBurlage.
• Like us on Facebook.
