Why losing OT Charles Jagusah is brutal blow for Notre Dame

Asked in late May about the status of the offensive tackle position, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman did what any good coach, politician or public relations professional would do.

He led with the positive spin.

“I feel really good about [Charles] Jagusah,” Freeman said. “He’s going to be solid at that left tackle position, and I knew it — again, I got to spend a lot of time with him on the scout team last year and he’s just continued to get better and better, and he’s had a great spring.”

Jagusah, a sophomore, is now out for the season. He tore his right pectoralis muscle during practice Saturday. It’s a brutal blow for the Fighting Irish, who lost the player they believed would be their best offensive tackle.

After stalwart OTs Joe Alt and Blake Fisher left for the NFL Draft following the 2023 season, it’s a position that was already considered thin in South Bend. Now, the Irish might be in dire straits.

Junior Aamil Wagner appears to be in pole position to start at one of the tackle spots — with Jagusah healthy, it would have been on the right side — while graduate student Tosh Baker will likely slide into the other. The Irish have expressed public confidence in Baker, but in practice, he hasn’t shown the quickness out of his stance to catch up with Notre Dame’s edge rushers.

Baker’s Pro Football Focus offense grade was 47.2 in 118 snaps in 2023. In 2021, his grade in 186 snaps (including two starts) was 45.3. The veteran’s dedication to Notre Dame — he stuck around until his final year of eligibility when he had no path to the starting lineup for two years — is admirable. But there is a reason Wagner passed him so quickly as the calendar turned from spring to fall.

Speaking of edge rushers, that happens to be the position at which Notre Dame’s schedule is strongest. In Week 1, Purdue transfer and reigning Big Ten sack leader Nic Scourton will lead a talented group of A&M defensive ends into battle. Later in the season, third-team All-American Ashton Gillotte awaits with Louisville. Florida State’s Patrick Payton has first-round potential, and he’ll face the Irish in November.

An inexperienced offensive tackle group in a post-Alt and Fisher world against these pass rushers was considered Notre Dame’s greatest disadvantage — particularly against the Aggies — before Jagusah went down. Now? The Irish are really in trouble.

The starters aren’t the only cause for concern. The depth at offensive tackle, at least at the moment, is one freshman, another freshman and *checks notes* a third freshman.

Anthonie Knapp is the only one of that group who has practiced with the second team in fall camp. The coaching staff appears to be very high on his potential, he’s passed the eye test in the Blue-Gold Game and he’s impressed whenever reporters have viewed practice. He’s also grown to a not-unplayable 291 pounds. But is he ready to be the first option off the bench — or more than that, if Baker falters?

Guerby Lambert (who’s been working as the third-team right tackle), at a mammoth 6-foot-7, 318 pounds, is certainly ready to play from a physical standpoint. But during the first fall camp practice, he looked… like a summer-enrolling freshman in his first college practice. Could he be ready to go at some point this season? Sure, but the Irish don’t want to force him into action before he’s ready.

The third-team left tackle, Styles Prescod, is considered a likely redshirt. It’s also worth noting that out of high school, many thought Knapp and Prescod would end up at guard.

Another option is to move sophomore Sullivan Absher back to tackle. He had been Jagusah’s direct backup in spring ball, but he switched to guard this summer.

“We’ve got to figure out, where does Sullivan Absher fit?” Freeman said at that late-May sitdown. “Where does Anthonie Knapp — where do some of these other guys that have a lot of talent, where do they fit amongst and at what position? Maybe they’re not in the first five, but they better be ready to go.”

Whichever direction the Irish go from here, Jagusah’s injury severely damages an already shaky and extremely important position entering the 2024 season. It’s not a death blow to Notre Dame’s developing offense, but it’s a significant setback.

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