Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 2, 2023 43 PREP PROFILES Scottsdale (Ariz.) Notre Dame Pre- paratory class of 2025 wideout Cooper Perry had a great summer. He added some new schools to his offer list and was up to 17 in mid-August. "After Notre Dame gave me my fifth scholarship offer, the offers just started falling into place," said Perry, who added Michigan State, Kansas, Wisconsin, San Diego State, Louisville and Kentucky since June. "A lot of schools came to see me in the spring and saw me firsthand and would offer me." Perry picked up an offer from Notre Dame March 17 for the staff's Pot of Gold Day, and the following weekend he vis- ited South Bend for the first time. He's planning on a return visit in September. "I'm hoping to be at the Ohio State versus Notre Dame game during the sea- son," he said. "I'm really excited for that. That's probably the only [out-of-state] game that I'll go to because I don't want to miss Saturday morning practice. But I want to get back to South Bend and see the atmosphere for myself." Notre Dame is considered a major contender for the 6-2, 180-pounder, and how well the Irish are recruiting him is only making Marcus Freeman's program a stronger candidate. "It's been great," Perry said. "Ever since they've been allowed to start con- tacting me, they've been one of the best schools recruiting me. They give me a lot of attention. I have great conver- sations with the whole staff — Coach [Gerad] Parker, Coach [Chansi] Stuckey, C a r te r Au m a n , D re B row n , C h a d Bowden — I love everyone over there. "I love their energy and what I saw from them at spring practice. I have nothing but great things to say about Notre Dame." Perry's recruitment has really heated up since Aug. 1, which was the first day that college coaches were allowed to start contacting current high school juniors. "It's been crazy; that night was wild," he said. "I went to bed early because I had practice in the morning, but I woke up to so many text messages and calls. One of the first to call me was Carter Auman at 12:08 a.m. It was good to see that." Perry isn't planning on making any major decisions in his recruitment yet, but he could be nearing that by the end of the year. — Mike Singer When Roswell (Ga.) Fellowship Chris- tian School class of 2025 offensive tackle Josh Petty picked up an offer from Notre Dame offensive line coach Joe Rudolph May 2, it certainly wasn't his first time talking to the first-year Irish staffer. "Coach Rudolph and I have had a bond for a while now," the offensive tackle told Blue & Gold Illustrated. "He gave me my second scholarship offer originally when he was at Vir- g i n i a Te c h . I first saw him at my school back then, and I've enjoyed talking with him." Petty picked up his offer from Ru- dolph and the Hokies in January. "He seems like a great person and coach," Petty said. "He has a great of- fensive line strategy and development. He switched schools, and we kept in contact. He told me about his move to Notre Dame." The Irish staff hit the road for the spring evaluation period a few days af- ter the Blue-Gold Game, and one of Ru- dolph's first stops was to Petty's school. "As I started blowing up more and becoming an option for Notre Dame, he said he'd swing by the school," Petty recalled. "He came to a morning work- out, we got on the phone that night and he told me I had an offer to Notre Dame, which is a great s c h o o l w i t h great academ- i c s. I 'm ve r y h a p p y a b o u t that offer. I was v e r y e x c i t e d about it, and we've been building our relationship ever since. We have phone calls and catch up with each other. We talk about more than just football. "Notre Dame is a little further out, but it has great academics and a great football program. It's definitely a known school. I've heard about it for years, and I'm look- ing to learn more about Notre Dame." The offensive line tradition at Notre Dame is appealing to Petty as well. "One of the big things I'm looking at in a school is development," he said. "And what kind of people are the players turning into? Seeing that at Notre Dame with their offensive line and how they put guys in the league like no other is impressive to me." Petty has Notre Dame on his list of schools that he wants to visit this fall. "We don't know exactly which game yet, but it's definitely one of the schools I'll go see," he said. — Mike Singer Three-Star Wide Receiver Raves About Fighting Irish Staff Elite 2025 Offensive Tackle Is Looking At Notre Dame COOPER PERRY ✪ ✪ ✪ Notre Dame Preparatory Scottsdale, Ariz. Status: Offered Class: 2025 Position: Wide receiver Ht.: 6-2 • Wt.: 180 On3 Rankings: No. 2 player in Arizona and No. 49 wide receiver in the nation JOSH PETTY ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ Fellowship Christian School Roswell, Ga. Status: Offered Class: 2025 Position: Offensive tackle Ht.: 6-4 • Wt.: 265 On3 Rankings: No. 3 player in Georgia, and No. 2 offensive tackle and No. 12 overall player nationally "I love their energy and what I saw from them at practice in the spring. I have nothing but great things to say about Notre Dame." PERRY ON NOTRE DAME'S COACHING STAFF "He seems like a great person and coach. He has a great offensive line strategy and development." PETTY ON NOTRE DAME OFFENSIVE LINE COACH JOE RUDOLPH