Visit To Notre Dame Solidifies Cooper Flanagan's Commitment
The off-season has been a period of turnover on the Notre Dame coaching staff. Although head coach Marcus Freeman has done an outstanding job putting together a great staff, turnover is always going to give recruits some pause. That is especially true for players who were already committed prior to the coaching changes.
Concord (Calif.) De La Salle tight end Cooper Flanagan is one of the players who fell into that category. The staff quickly went into overdrive to show the talented tight end that the new-look staff valued him. Flanagan has remained positive while developing a relationship with new tight ends coach Gerad Parker.
He returned to Notre Dame this weekend, taking in the new staff in a practice setting in order to develop a deeper understanding of their vision.
“The trip was awesome,” Flanagan said. “It was really nice to hang out with the team and spend some good time with Coach Freeman and Coach Parker. Being able to spend time with Coach (Chad) Bowden was great too.”
Flanagan committed to Notre Dame back on September 2 of last year. Since then, the talented tight end has continuously backed his commitment to the Irish even through the coaching changes and offers from schools such as Alabama and LSU.
Of course, Freeman was already on the coaching staff when Flanagan committed so he had some knowledge of him. As a head coach, however, it was a new vantage point to observe. Seeing Parker’s coaching style was also paramount.
“I loved watching him coach," Flanagan explained. "Coach Parker is a guy and a really fantastic coach. He is vocal and positive but will let you know when something needs to be different. He was an offensive coordinator and you can tell. He was really commanding the tight end group and I loved watching it all.”
For all Flanagan’s Instagram followers, the Notre Dame staff pulled out the Golden throne for Flanagan’s trip. Flanagan had some mixed feelings about hopping on the throne but that opinion quickly changed.
“I swore I wasn’t going to," Flanagan said with a chuckle. "That isn’t usually my style and then, there I was. It was awesome.”
Any fear of a potential changing of heart for Flanagan should be thoroughly put to rest. Flanagan is all Irish.
The 6-5 240-pounder is well regarded as far as the recruiting rankings are concerned. Flanagan is currently rated as the No. 108 player and No. 8 tight end according to 247Sports.
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