Notre Dame predicted to land one of the fastest wide receivers in the 2027 recruiting class over increasing list of options
Notre Dame football appears to be in prime position for one of the more interesting wide receivers in the 2027 recruiting class.
Notre Dame football is off to a solid start in the 2027 recruiting class so far, and there are several important targets set to visit South Bend this offseason. That includes Malvern (Pa.) Prep athlete Cade Cooper, who is one of the more interesting wide receivers on the board for head coach Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish.
Cooper is set to take an official visit to South Bend on June 12-14. With things in a great spot between the two sides, many have expected that things could escalate quickly. He has quickly become a pretty big priority for Notre Dame in recent weeks, and Cooper knows it. The optimists about where things stand include Mike Singer from Rivals, who has logged an expert prediction for the Pennsylvania star to land with Notre Dame.
I share Singer’s optimism for Notre Dame’s standing with Cooper, although I don’t necessarily see a prediction coming in the near future. It is safe to say that the Irish are in the lead right now, but it’ll be interesting to see how the wide receiver board matures as we get into the spring and summer. Notre Dame should carry a ton of momentum going into that official visit if they don’t have any missteps.
It will also be interesting to see if Notre Dame is able to get Cooper up for an unofficial visit before then. The program would ideally like to be riding as much momentum as possible going into the summer.
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 for the former. On the 247 Sports Composite ranking, the Pennsylvania native is currently pegged as a four-star, the No. 339 overall player, the No. 43 wide receiver, and the No. 12 player from the state of Pennsylvania for the 2027 recruiting class.
Despite those 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, Penn State, Ole Miss, Kentucky, Pitt, 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.