Notre Dame football takes a crucial step with one of the higher upside wide receivers in the 2027 recruiting class
Notre Dame football is still searching for its first 2027 wide receiver commit. They are trending for an extremely talented one.
Notre Dame football is in a very important part of the offseason, not only for the 2026 team but also for the recruiting operation. With so much momentum for head coach Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish on that side, they are hoping to get a ton of good news on the horizon.
The Irish staff is in a great spot for several important targets for the 2027 recruiting class, including Malvern (Pa.) Prep wide receiver, Cade Cooper. Notre Dame took a strong step with Cooper this week, landing a spot inside of his updated top six schools. They were joined by Georgia, Ole Miss, Nebraska, Georgia Tech, and Illinois in that top group.
As of today, Notre Dame is considered the team to beat for Cooper. They are a program that got on him early compared to some of the other prominent programs that have pursued him. Freeman and Co. is going to be extremely hard to beat, for the Pennsylvania native, especially if Cooper makes a decision sometime in the near future.
The Irish are also in a really good spot with Florida pass catcher Julius Jones Jr., a priority target with a legacy background. There is still work to be done, but wide receivers coach Mike Brown has a chance to sign another talented wide receiver class, although it probably won’t quite rival the 2026 group.
Cade Cooper’s recruiting background
Depending on which of the major recruiting platforms you look at, Cooper is rated between a three-star and four-star player, but mostly the former. On the 247 Sports Composite ranking, the Pennsylvania native is currently pegged as a four-star, the No. 295 overall player, the No. 36 wide receiver, and the No. 9 player from the state of Pennsylvania for the 2027 recruiting class.
Despite those somewhat underwhelming rankings, Cooper’s offer list has continued to expand quickly over the last couple of months. Some of his top offers now include the Fighting Irish, Georgia, Penn State, Ole Miss, Nebraska, Kentucky, Pitt, Georgia Tech, Boston College, Illinois, Cincinnati, Virginia, Maryland, Michigan State, Minnesota, Virginia Tech, Northwestern, Duke, Wake Forest, West Virginia, and Syracuse, among several others.
As a junior, Cooper turned in a good season for Malvern Prep. The 6-3, 192-pound pass catcher managed to haul in 44 receptions for 644 yards and six touchdowns, an average of 14.6 yards per reception. Cooper’s combination of size, twitch, and physicality brings an intriguing skill set for the next level.