Notre Dame football enters the 2026 college football season with massive expectations for head coach Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish offense.

A dynamic skill position group and a now-veteran signal caller in quarterback CJ Carr have generated significant optimism. One position group generating particular intrigue, however, is the tight end room.

Notre Dame has historically recruited, developed, and retained tight end talent as well as any program in the country, and the 2026 roster is no exception. The talent is undeniable, but the proven production is lacking, making this one of the more divisive position groups to evaluate heading into the fall.

There’s a chance this unit develops into one of the better tight end rooms in all of college football from top to bottom. There’s also a chance the passing game production from the position remains limited, particularly early in the season.

How offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock chooses to utilize the position will go a long way in determining the outcome.

Cooper Flanagan is the most known commodity

Perhaps the most established name returning is redshirt junior Cooper Flanagan. The 6-foot-6, 250-pound tight end has been part of the program since arriving in the 2023 recruiting class. Over his first two seasons, he carved out a role as the blocking tight end in the Notre Dame rotation. However, he was limited last season while recovering from an Achilles injury suffered the previous year, playing in just a single game in 2025.

That has caused Flanagan to fly under the radar, but if healthy, he is expected to be a key cog in this room. His background at De La Salle High School in California, a program known for its ground attack, means proven receiving production was never established even at the prep level. With Eli Raridon now off to the NFL, Flanagan has an opportunity to prove he can be an all-around weapon.

The baseline should at least be the best overall blocker at tight end Notre Dame has returning. How much of an impact he makes in the passing game will determine how deep this rotation truly goes.

James Flanigan, Ty Washington, and Jack Larsen fill out the returning group

Redshirt freshman James Flanigan (no relation to Cooper, spelled differently) was a big-time recruit in the 2025 class. He saw limited action last season behind a solid tight end rotation but flashed in the run game. James has more receiving upside than Cooper, though he has yet to record a catch in his Notre Dame career due to lack of opportunity. Like his namesake, he should establish himself as a reliable run blocker in 2026. Whether he can emerge as a passing game weapon remains to be seen, but the talent is there.

Ty Washington, who transferred in from Arkansas before last season, brings a different profile. There is nothing dynamic about Washington as a football player, but he does everything at a requisite level. He will likely never rise above the third tight end in this offense, though his size, effort in the run game, and solid hands provide a dependable baseline.

Jack Larsen enters his redshirt sophomore year as a bit of a forgotten name. The 6-foot-3, 250-pound tight end catches the ball well but has had very few opportunities due to his limitations as an in-line blocker. Barring something unforeseen, I don’t see Larsen making much of an impact in 2026.

True freshman Ian Premer could be the breakout star

The key newcomer to know is true freshman five-star Ian Premer.

The 6-foot-6, 240-pounder was rated as an elite prospect in the 2026 recruiting class for good reason. Despite not arriving until the summer, I am all in on the upside Premer brings in the passing game. Even if he does not begin the year as a focal point of the offense, I believe that by season’s end he could be the leading receiver among all the tight ends. His ability to split out wide, work in the slot, play in the boundary, and line up in-line gives him tremendous upside as a mismatch weapon. I’m buying early stock on what the five-star can bring to the table.

Fellow true freshman Preston Fryzel is extremely undersized at about 6-foot-3, 225 pounds. His long-term upside as a flex tight end is immense, but the 2026 season should serve as a valuable opportunity for him to develop physically and position himself for a larger role down the road.

This tight end room has the talent to make a significant leap. The question is whether enough of these players can prove it in the passing game to complement what should already be a strong run-blocking unit. If Premer’s upside translates quickly and Cooper Flanagan stays healthy, Notre Dame could quietly have one of the deeper tight end rotations in the country by the time the season hits its stride.