Notre Dame Tight End Cooper Flanagan Is Poised For A Breakout Season
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The tight end room in South Bend is still up for grabs heading into the bulk of the offseason. Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock has a plethora of talent in the room, and is arguably getting their highest ceiling player in the room this summer when Ian Premer gets to campus. But this spring, we saw little very little separation in the room in the pass game. Thankfully, one stood above the rest as a dominant force in the run game.
Last season, Notre Dame was without one of their most dominant run-blocking tight ends. Cooper Flanagan missed the entire 2025 season as he was working his way back from an achilles injury he suffered against Georgia during the Sugar Bowl in 2024. This spring was the first time we got to see Flanagan back on the field in a football uniform and what we saw from him did not disappoint.
In 2024, Flanagan played 262 snaps across 13 games mostly as a run blocker. From Florida State to the end of the regular season against USC, he started to shine as a run blocker. PFF graded him out as one of the highest run blockers on the team in those four straight games which led into the College Football Playoffs. He had the edge-sealing block, along with left tackle Anthonie Knapp on Jeremiyah Love's 98-yard touchdown run to open up the scoring.
There was talk about Flanagan being able to return in 2025 at the end of the season if the Irish were going to make a playoff run, but their season was ultimately cut short, and we would have to wait to see the 6-6, 250-pound tight end until the spring.
One thing was clear after watching the California native during spring training: he's a tenacious blocker and was itching to get back out on the field. Several of the 'scrums' that took place in practice had No. 87 at the center of it and it was due to his aggressive nature as a blocker. Between Flanagan and rising redshirt freshman James Flanigan, the run blocking performance from the tight ends this season should be much more consistent.
The question around Flanagan is his contributions as a pass catcher. In his career, the California native only has five receptions for 74 yards, but three of his career receptions have gone for touchdowns. In flashes, he's shown his capabilities as a pass catcher. In 2024 against Texas A&M in the season opener, he caught a 16-yard corner route that picked up a big first down. He also caught a 28-yard seam route for a touchdown on the opening drive of the second half against Purdue in 2024.
Flanagan is more than capable of having an impact in the passing game this season. We've seen countless tight ends have limited production the year prior to stepping into the No. 1 role. This won't be anything new for the Notre Dame offense.
In 2005, John Carlson had seven catches for 56 yards and a touchdown and in 2006 he had 47 receptions for 634 yards and four touchdowns. In 2012, Troy Nicklas had five catches for 75 yards and one touchdowns; he followed that up with 32 catches for 498 yards and five touchdowns. In 2018, Cole Kmet had 15 catches for 162 yards and in 2019 he finished with 43 catches for 515 yards and six touchdowns.
Most recently, Eli Raridon who was just drafted in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft went from having 11 catches for 90 yards and two touchdowns in 2024 to having 32 receptions for 482 yards in 2025. Flanagan is likely to be the next in line in this pattern, but his performance in the run game alone is enough to predict a breakout for the 6-6. 250-pound California native in 2026.
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