SOUTH BEND —Cooper Flanagan will never forget the exact moment when his Achilles tendon gave out.
It happened on the tight end’s third offensive snap early in Notre Dame football’s Sugar Bowl win over Georgia.
“I was just running a corner (route) in our end zone, and I planted off my left foot,” he said after a recent spring practice session. “I thought someone kicked me. I just remember jogging off to the sideline. I thought, ‘Uh-oh. Something’s not right.’ “
Nearly 15 months have passed since Flanagan was knocked out of the College Football Playoff run for the Irish. Surgery followed, and then there were the mind-numbing months of rehabilitation and doubt.
“You just stop and think, ‘Holy shoot,’ that it really happened to me,” he said. “You never really think it’s going to happen. Going on with the rehab process, a ton of hard work. So many days that were tough.”
Even before that Jan. 2 night in New Orleans, his sophomore season had already been an exercise in pain management. He came up limping on his fourth offensive snap against Miami (Ohio) in Week 4 and did not return that afternoon.
The official injury report listed him as out against Louisville the following week with a left ankle issue, but Flanagan made it back after the bye week for the Stanford game.
It would take until the Army game at Yankee Stadium in late November before his snap count would return to its early-season levels.
“I had been fighting Achilles pain and Achilles problems the whole year,” he said. “There is a very, very small chance that I tore it (in Week 4), but I guess it just kind of happened.”
Cooper Flanagan and the long road back
Last season proved to be a maddening series of starts and stops for Flanagan, who carries 250 pounds on his 6-foot-6 frame.
“I would have a couple days off, practice, and then it would be a little sore and I’d have to push through that,” he said. “It kept getting worse and worse, so I just had to be smart about it.”
He was finally cleared to return against USC in mid-October, but a six-snap outing (four on offense, two on the field-goal unit) proved fleeting.
“Trying to come back, you’re not really sure when you’re going to be ready,” he said. “I think I just came back a little too soon. I didn’t really feel like myself.”
Was it more mental or physical?
“I think it’s a little bit of both,” he said. “Part of it is you just don’t trust your body 100%. Maybe there’s a reason for that, but it just takes time.”
In consultation with the team’s medical staff, Flanagan throttled back down into November.
With Eli Raridon and Ty Washington handling most of the blocking, and freshman James Flanigan coming on strong as well, the Notre Dame staff decided to hold back Flanagan for a potential postseason run.
“I didn’t want to risk anything,” the Pleasant Hill, Calif., product said. “Being smart, I’ve put myself in a position where I am today that I feel great. I feel 100%.”
When two-loss Notre Dame was left out of the playoff and then subsequently rejected a bid to the Pop-Tarts Bowl, it meant there would be no December reward for Flanagan’s long year of rehab.
“I think the plan was to see what bowl game we got, and I definitely would have had some plays,” he said. “I think just minimal snaps. … It was definitely tough because I was almost there. I was almost feeling like I was myself again.”
After the initial disappointment passed, he realized the benefits of a longer offseason.
“We got cut a little short, but I think it was nice in a way just to reset and be able to focus on next season and be able to put myself where I am right now,” he said. “Just having that time, it was kind of a blessing in a way for myself.”
Mike Denbrock loves Cooper Flanagan’s toughness
Flanagan’s feistiness showed up on Day 1 of spring ball when he got into a minor skirmish with the Irish defense.
“For me, it’s just competing,” said Flanagan, who was a few years behind former Irish All-American Isaiah Foskey at De La Salle High School. “I’m always trying to be as tough as I can be. … It’s just part of football. Tempers are going to flare. You’re going to fight. It’s just fun. I love doing that stuff.”
Irish offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock, a former tight end himself, chuckled at a mention of Flanagan’s scrap.
“Yeah, well, that’s Coop,” Denbrock said. “That’s why I love him. He’s a tough dude that doesn’t like to be pushed around.”
A few days later, the storylines of two participants in Notre Dame’s Pro Day could provide encouragement to a fourth-year junior working back from major injury.
Running back Jadarian Price, pegged for a second-round slot (at worst) in next month’s NFL Draft, overcame a torn Achilles as a freshman in the summer of 2022.
Raridon, meanwhile, was on track to extend Notre Dame’s run as Tight End U. despite tearing his ACL twice along the way.
“I’ve had injuries before, and it takes a while to gain that confidence back,” Raridon said after his Pro Day workout. “I told (Flanagan) to just be patient. Eventually it’s going to be OK.”
Encouraging signs
Seeing Raridon’s full return to form helped boost Flanagan’s spirits last year. So did their conversations along the way.
“It’s going to take time,” Raridon said. “You want to be on the field as soon as possible. You just have to trust God through that process and trust he’ll take care of you. I think (it takes) patience and just staying mentally strong throughout the whole process.”
All of that made sense to Flanagan, even more so now that his burst and cutting ability have returned. There’s a reason, after all, that he was assigned Michael Mayer’s old jersey No. 87 upon arriving in South Bend three years ago.
“I’ve seen him attack his rehab process,” Raridon said. “I think he’s starting to feel a lot better out there. I’m really excited to see what he can do. He can be a great player.”
Five of the first eight passes thrown Flanagan’s way in his first two seasons wound up as receptions. Three of those went for touchdowns: a 19-yard pass from Steve Angeli against Pittsburgh in 2023; a 28-yarder from Angeli at Purdue in 2024; and a 2-yarder from Riley Leonard later that season against Virginia.
“He’s worked really hard to get himself back,” Denbrock said. “I’d say he’s probably 90%.”
The last remaining piece, Denbrock said, is more about confidence than health.
Flanagan, who pointed out he doesn’t even turn 21 until late July, has a clear goal for this spring.
“Just trying to dominate,” he said. “Just trying to make a name for myself and show this offense and prove to everyone that I can be a dominant tight end.”
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame football TE Cooper Flanagan and the long road back
Reporting by Mike Berardino, South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
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