Notre Dame football suffers massive loss on an already unsettled offensive line group

Notre Dame received a tough blow on Monday when it was announced that starting left tackle Charles Jagusah suffered an upper body injury. This injury will sideline him for the 2024 college football season, leaving a massive hole left to fill on the blindside.

At 6-7 and 330 pounds with nimble athleticism, and a wrestling background, a lot of people were excited to see what Jagusah could do this fall. The former top recruit didn’t play much in 2023 aside from the final game of the season, where he started in the Sun Bowl against Oregon State. During that contest, Jagusah showed why so many were high on him from various recruiting services,

Despite that one start, Jagusah was supposed to be a pillar of the 2024 offensive line and the future. The Irish have had great success developing the left tackle position, and the Illinois native was viewed as the next great one in the line.

On the bright side for Jagusah, he is still very young. He was just going to be a redshirt freshman this year, meaning he still has three years of eligibility after 2024. Jagusah has more than enough time to recover, and still realize his potential with Notre Dame .

The unsettling part of this conversation is what the Irish do from here on the offensive line. The most natural move feels like it could be to move projected starting right tackle Aamil Wagner over to the left side. He has the length and athleticism to hold down that position, and make a potentially easy transition. That would most likely mean that Tosh Baker would take over at right tackle.

If this were a mid-season injury, there is an argument that letting five-star freshman Guerby Lambert get an opportunity opposite of Wagner might be the best option. Considering that Lambert didn’t enroll until the Summer, projecting him to be ready on August 31st against Texas A&M could be a little unrealistic.

In the spring, redshirt freshman Sullivan Absher was getting a lot of reps behind Jagusah at left tackle. Absher, who is massive at 6-7 and 326 pounds, has been working a lot inside at left guard this fall, which might illustrate more of what Absher’s future could be.

No matter who ends up starting, Joe Rudolph and his unit will be tested early on. The Irish staff has been dealt a massive blow, and will need to find an answer quickly.