Marcus Freeman didn’t hesitate when asked to describe Cooper Flanagan.
“When I think of alpha, I think of Coop,” Freeman said of Notre Dame’s senior tight end from the East Bay in northern California. “I’m talking about alpha male, and he is that.”
Flanagan heard the line, and naturally, so did his teammates.
“Yeah, I've definitely been made fun of a little bit for that, but that's definitely an honor,” he said after Tuesday’s practice. “I just try to carry myself a certain way.”
At 6-foot-6 and 255 pounds, he has the frame to match the label. But for Notre Dame, Flanagan’s edge shows up in the less glamorous parts of the job: the blocks, the scrums, the willingness to mix it up. He’s been more known for his work as a blocker than as a receiver, and that physical streak has even spilled into practice dustups.
“To me, it's just football, you know?” he said.
“It's a physical sport. I feel like I'm a pretty nice guy outside of football, but when you're able to put your helmet on and just go out there and rough it up with your friends, it's the best thing in the world.”
The tight end says the “alpha male” description makes him think of the people leading the program.
“Alpha male?” he said.
“I guess I just think of coach Freeman, honestly. Coach Freeman and coach Denbrock.
Just two great examples.”
Flanagan’s path to that mentality started long before he became a fixture in Notre Dame’s tight end room. He was a lacrosse prodigy from age 3, then began football in elementary school before shifting his full focus to the sport in high school. His family background was built around athletics too: his father, Steve Flanagan, coaches lacrosse at De La Salle and was a former Rutgers rower before transferring to Maryland, while his mother, Krissy, played field hockey and lacrosse in college.
Even the family dynamic helped shape his toughness.
“Just growing up, getting beat up by my older brother definitely taught me some stuff,” Cooper Flanagan said.
That edge shows up when practice gets chippy. He was involved in a dustup with safety Adon Shuler at the start of spring practice, and he doesn’t shy away from the kind of work Notre Dame asks from its tight ends. Along with sophomore James Flanigan and former Arkansas transfer Ty Washington, he helps set the tone in the run game.
“We love doing it,” Flanagan said. “We love putting our heads on people and trying to drive people back. Just trying our best to displace a guy off the line of scrimmage is a pretty cool thing.”
Still, with the Sept. 6 season opener against Wisconsin getting closer, Flanagan says he’s tried to dial the aggression back just enough.
“At some point, it's like, ‘All right, let's be smarter,’“ he said.
For Notre Dame, though, that edge is part of the appeal. And the Badgers, with that Sunday night trip to Lambeau Field, are getting closer by the day.
In Other News...
Notre Dame Helped Spark A Fight LSU Is Daring To Ignore
Several major powers in college sports, including Notre Dame, the Big Ten and the SEC, have already moved to shut the door on NFL players trying to jump into college football programs. The NFL has answered with its own hard line, barring players who leave the league for college football from signing with any team in the 2026 season, turning what once might have been a novelty into a real governance fight.
LSU, though, is pressing ahead anyway, actively recruiting former NFL players for both its football and basketball programs. The list includes tight end Dae'Quan Wright, defensive lineman Zxavian Harris and guard RJ Luis Jr., who received a preliminary injunction allowing him to play for LSUs basketball team in the 2026-27 season. For Notre Dame and the rest of the schools that backed the ban, LSUs willingness to keep pushing the issue leaves the sport staring at a test case it clearly is not done litigating. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame's Right Guard Battle Just Took An Unexpected Turn
Notre Dames interior line picture picked up a little intrigue this week, with offensive line coach Joe Rudolph looking at Styles Prescod as a possible fit at right guard. Prescod arrived at training camp as a backup tackle, but his work in an August scrimmage caught the staffs attention enough to get him into a more serious conversation for a starting job.
Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock confirmed the right guard spot is still open, and Prescod is one of several players being evaluated there. It is a notable turn for a lineman who has had limited game action in previous seasons because of injury, and it gives the Irish another option as they sort out a position that remains very much up for grabs. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dames Loaded Roster Just Raised The 2026 Ceiling Debate
The early national buzz around Notre Dames 2026 outlook is already coming into focus, and it starts with just how many of its best players showed up on The Athletics latest top-100 list. Leonard Moore landed all the way at No. 2, while CJ Carr checked in at No. 9, giving the Fighting Irish a rare pair near the very top of the college football conversation before the season even gets rolling. Add in Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, Anthonie Knapp, Boubacar Traore and Tae Johnson, and it is clear the roster talent in South Bend is being viewed as more than just deep - it is being viewed as elite.
For Notre Dame, the more interesting part is what this kind of recognition says about the programs ceiling. The Athletics rankings and player capsules are built around individual traits and recent production, but the larger takeaway is how many different spots on the field are represented here, from the secondary to the front seven to the offensive side of the ball. When six players make a list like this, the question shifts from whether Notre Dame has enough top-end talent to whether it can turn that talent into the kind of complete team that survives the biggest games on the schedule. [Read more 🡒]