“I knew that I wanted to go to the University of Notre Dame and didn’t want to go through the recruiting process any longer,” said Junior Richie Flanigan, who recently committed to the University of Notre Dame.

He chose UND because of its historic football program and knew it would set him up for life after football.

Flanigan also had offers to Michigan,  Wisconsin, Northwestern, Duke, Stanford and Illinois.

He was not specifically told any expectations for the University of Notre Dame other than “keep improving and developing.”

“It’s a great school, top 15 in the country, and the football program has a great culture and competes for national championships each year,” said Flanigan.

He started playing football in seventh grade and is currently playing on both the defensive and offensive line for the Tritons.

“All of my coaches throughout middle school and high school have helped me develop as a person and football player as well as physically,” said Flanigan.

One of the people who inspired him here at NDA was his older brother who was the best example for him to follow. 

He is also grateful for his parents for supporting him and doing a lot of work so that he has been able to play sports. 

His goal right now is to win a state championship this season with his team, and now that recruiting is over he will be able to fully focus on his goal.

“A big challenge in football is being consistent every week. Football is the most physically challenging sport and having to bring your best every day for a three-and-a-half-month season is the most challenging part,” said the junior.

He went to state last year, and he hopes the next step is winning state this season.

Playing in the state championship was the biggest game of his career so far, and he relishes the thought of experiencing that atmosphere again.

“Before games I just sit in the locker room and listen to music and after the game to celebrate I usually go out with my friends to The Distillery and hang out there,” he said.

Flanigan also does track and field, and he has also played hockey for 12 years.

A hobby he does outside of football is playing golf–even though he says he’s very bad at it.