If the Monday night decommitment of Khalil Terry made Notre Dame football head coach Marcus Freeman rock back a bit, he can rest easy in knowing that the Fighting Irish are still considered the team to beat for 4-star wide receiver Cade Cooper. Cooper, a pass catcher out of Malvern Prep (Garnet Valley, PA), announced his Final 6 teams earlier this week, and the Irish stand in very good shape.
Alongside ND, the 6-foot-3 wideout is still considering Georgia Tech, Georgia, Ole Miss, Nebraska, and Illnois. If there's anything that stands out from his list it's that he's not still considering his home state Penn State.
Notre Dame stands at the head of the pack for Cade Cooper
The Nittany Lions have done a good job in recent years of locking down the best players in their own backyard. However, a new head coach might offer an opening for schools like Notre Dame to venture into Pennsylvania even more.
NEWS: Four-Star WR Cade Cooper is down to 6 Schools, he tells me for @Rivals⁰⁰The 6’3 195 WR is ranked as the No. 2 WR in Pennsylvania in the 2027 Rivals300
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) April 20, 2026
Where Should He Go?⁰⁰https://t.co/VXoUGOurJP pic.twitter.com/vVDkl8cN3H
With predictions in the Rivals Recruiting Prediction Machine favoring the Fighting Irish from Rivals vice president of recruiting Steve Wiltfong and Blue & Gold recruiting insider Mike Singer, Notre Dame appears to be the team to beat for Rivals' No. 131 overall player and No. 23 wide receiver in the class. Cooper is also the No. 2 player in Pennsylvania in his class.
In addition to those predictions, Malvern Prep head coach Dave Gueriera recently spoke with Irish Sports Daily about where he sees things standing with Notre Dame and Cooper, and it sure seems as though the wide receiver will pull the trigger for the Irish any day now.
Cade Cooper loved latest visit to Notre Dame
"He loved it," Gueriera said about an earlier Cade Cooper visit to South Bend. "He loved Notre Dame. He loved everything about it. He was beaming."
"When he went there and saw Joey O’Brien, met Coach Freeman and Coach Brown, he was beaming. I just feel like that could be the right fit for him academically and athletically. And it doesn’t hurt that Joey O’Brien (a Pennsylvania native himself) is kind of recruiting him."
While Notre Dame looks like the leader for Cade Cooper, Fighting Irish fans need not worry about Marcus Freeman resting on his laurels. More likely, he'll push his advantage hard and lock the young player down before long.
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