Notre Dame commitment Cole Mabry of Brentwood is No. 12 on 2017 Dandy Dozen
Michael MurphyBrentwood offensive tackle Cole Mabry didn't consider himself a Notre Dame fan.
He didn’t spend his childhood Saturdays faithfully tuning in to the Fighting Irish, or have visions of one day slapping the "Play Like A Champion Today" sign before sprinting into the nearly century-old Notre Dame stadium. As for Touchdown Jesus?
“I’m not even Catholic,” Mabry said. “I have no ties there.”
That was true up until about six months ago, when former Memphis assistant Chip Long was named Notre Dame’s next offensive coordinator.
►RELATED: Brentwood joins high school football turf trend
For the first time, the Fighting Irish were on Mabry’s radar. More importantly, he was on theirs.
“My first offer was actually Memphis, and Coach Long was the offensive coordinator at the time,” said Mabry, who comes in at No. 12 on this year’s Dandy Dozen. “He got hired at Notre Dame and started texting me telling me they wanted to have me up there for a visit.”
The Dandy Dozen is a collection of seniors who are the top 12 college football prospects from the Nashville area as named by The Tennessean.
► More: See who else made the 2017 Dandy Dozen
Mabry made the trip to South Bend, Ind., for the Fighting Irish’s Feb. 11 Junior Day, and the 6-foot-6, 265-pound offensive tackle committed just three days later.
“I loved it,” added Mabry, a three-star prospect and the nation’s 53rd-ranked offensive tackle according to 247Sports. “I got the chance to hang out with some of their O-linemen, and it just felt like I fit in real well there.”
Upon his commitment, Mabry’s offer list, which had included Cincinnati, Colorado State, Indiana, Memphis and Purdue, grew considerably.
“He already had some good offers, but once he got the Notre Dame offer, Auburn came along and he got some other big ones, too,” Brentwood coach Ron Crawford said. “That’s usually how it happens.”
►RELATED:Best Dandy Dozen selections over the years
“His best ball is probably ahead of him. He started for us as a 6-foot-5, 197-pound sophomore, and now he’s a 260-pound senior. He’s got the measurable. Now he needs to follow it up and continue to improve and work on his game.”
Last season, Mabry helped anchor a Brentwood offense that threw for 2,022 yards, ran for 2,032 and scored 53 total touchdowns en route to a Class 5A semifinal finish.
With the return of 36 seniors, including the quarterback duo of Carson Shacklett and Kaden Dreier, Mabry is confident the Bruins can duplicate that success, despite the squad’s move up to Class 6A.
“I feel like people are still going to try to maybe underestimate us because we’re one of the smaller teams in 6A,” he said. “But we’ll just have to prove them wrong again.”
Reach Michael Murphy at mfmurphy@tennessean.com, 615-259-8026 and on Twitter @Murph_TNsports.
Cole Mabry
Brentwood, offensive tackle
Height: 6-5 Weight: 265
247Sports composite: 3 stars
College: Committed to Notre Dame (2/14/2017)
Key stat: Three-year starter and 2016 All-Region 7-5A selection anchored an offense that amassed over 4,000 yards and averaged nearly 30 points per game en route to a Class 5A semifinal finish.