When Notre Dame offensive coordinator Tommy Rees reached out via text message to give him a call last Thursday, Pat Coogan had to be thinking good news may be coming.
And it was a dream come true for the class of 2021 Chicago Marist offensive lineman when he received a scholarship offer from Notre Dame.
“It was definitely a surreal moment for me,” Coogan said. “I’ve been waiting for this one so it feels really good.”
Rees has been Coogan’s main point of contact during the recruiting process with Notre Dame, and the 6-5, 275-pounder has appreciated how up front and honest the Irish coach has been.
“He told me this was going to happen, and he’s a man of his word,” Coogan said. “He said I check off all the boxes that Notre Dame wants, and he knows what I bring to the table.”
A little while after landing the scholarship offer from Rees, Coogan got on the phone with offensive line coach Jeff Quinn for about a half hour.
Coogan has met Quinn on a number of occasions, including being coached by him at the Lineman’s Challenge camp at Notre Dame last summer, catching up with him during a visit last September and seeing him at Marist in January.
“It was a great conversation, just building that relationship,” Coogan said of his phone call with Quinn. “He was telling me about himself and how he coaches.”
Notre Dame joins the likes of Michigan, Michigan State, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Stanford and many others on his offer sheet.
“I’ve always considered Notre Dame a part of my recruitment because of the serious conversations we’ve had in the past,” Coogan said. “They definitely shot up my board for sure.”
Coogan has always had a love for Notre Dame as well, and landing the offer may have been just as big for his family as it was for him.
“Being from the Chicagoland area, there’s a big Notre Dame pull,” Coogan noted. “My family has always been a Notre Dame family. On any given Saturday, we’ll turn on the Notre Dame game instead of any other team and watch them.
“I’ve been to games as a fan and as a recruit. That’s a cool perspective.”
With the coronavirus spreading through America, the NCAA has recruiting visits shut down for the foreseeable future. Coogan has to adjust his plans for his recruitment moving forward because of it.
“I had to cancel a few visits, which was a bummer, but everyone is going through the same thing,” Coogan said. “Once this whole process gets going, I’ll try to schedule visits, continue to build relationships, start making official visits maybe in the summer and that will be where I really start thinking about a timetable.”
Four days after receiving the good news from Notre Dame, Coogan added an offer from the Ohio State head coach Ryan Day. He had a “virtual visit” with the Ohio State staff.
“The offer from OSU means a great deal to me,” Coogan told BuckeyeGrove.com. “With it being a great school, a great football program, and the amount of people they have produced into the NFL, it is really an awesome opportunity.”
Coogan is someone who analysts believe could play anywhere on the offensive line, and Notre Dame sees his talents translating at guard.
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