With new running backs and some questions on the offensive line, the Notre Dame football team is looking for “alpha males” to lead the offense. Head coach Marcus Freeman believes he has one at tight end with Cooper Flanagan.
“When I think of alpha, I think of Coop,” Freeman said of the senior tight end earlier this week. “I’m talking about alpha male, and he is that.” When the tight end addressed the media shortly after, he said with a smile that he saw that quote from his head coach. He added that his teammates read it too and were having quite a bit of fun teasing him about it.
For his part, Flanagan returned the favor by saying that when he thinks of Alpha Males, he thinks of Freeman and Notre Dame’s offensive coordinator, Mike Denbrock. As far as what he believes Alpha male means in regards to playing football, he believes it’s all about being physical.
So far in his career, the tight end has been much more eager to block than he is to be a weapon as a receiver. The physicality has even led to him getting into it every now and then with his teammates. There have been more than a few times when he’s gotten into a fight at practice.
Cooper Flanagan has turned three of five Notre Dame football receptions into touchdowns
“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.”
So far, the Alpha Male has hauled in just 5 catches. Of course, he’s made the most of those receptions, going for 74 yards and 3 touchdowns. College football fans would be hard-pressed to find another tight end who has turned 60% of his catches into scores. Considering that there’s a real question of who will start for Notre Dame this fall at the position, Flanagan might finally become a weapon in the passing game. However, even if he doesn’t, he’ll keep doing what he loves most: run blocking.
“We love doing it,” Flanagan said about himself, sophomore James Flanigan and former Arkansas Transfer Ty Washington. “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.”
He hasn’t got as much mention so far in training camp and the first few weeks of Notre Dame’s prep for the season, but Cooper Flanagan might turn his Alpha Male personality into a surprise weapon in 2026.
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