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Notre Dame suffers huge blow to offensive line with season-ending injury
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Notre Dame now needs to find a new answer at left tackle with less than a month to go before the season.
During practice on Saturday, second-year tackle Charles Jagusah suffered an injury to his shoulder. An MRI confirmed a right torn pectoral muscle. Notre Dame announced on Monday he is expected to miss the entire 2024 season.
The school also announced that defensive back Mary Auer will miss the upcoming season with a torn ACL in his left knee.
With Notre Dame trying to replace Joe Alt in its lineup, the loss of Jagusah is a massive blow. The former blue-chip recruit started the Sun Bowl last season, becoming the first true freshman to start on the offensive line at Notre Dame since Alt in 2021.
The Irish are having an open competition at right tackle, but there didn’t seem to be any question about Jagusah’s status as the starting left tackle entering the year.
“Charles has a chance to be really good,” offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock told The Athletic in a Q&A last week.
Jagusah was a state champion as a heavyweight wrestler at Rock Island (Ill.) Alleman. He suffered a lower-body injury during his senior year at the high school level that cost him his final wrestling season. Still, the 6-foot-7, 330-pounder did enough to impress the coaching staff in his first year on campus and put a good showing on tape in his first start against Virginia Tech in the Sun Bowl last December.
Notre Dame didn’t just need to replace Alt this offseason, though. Jobs at right tackle and center were up for grabs. The Irish also have to replace Audric Estimé’s production in the ground game after he ran for 1,341 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2023.
With Duke transfer Riley Leonard at quarterback, Notre Dame’s ability to protect with its rebuilt offensive line is looking like one of the most important early storylines of its season.
Leonard was a breakout stud in 2022 before injuries wrecked his 2023 campaign. He injured his ankle in September 2023, and the issue required surgery in mid-January as well as a follow-up procedure in March that caused him to miss most of spring ball.
The Irish seemingly have good depth at the position, with Steve Angeli and CJ Carr to back up Leonard. But this is a preseason top-10 team and a heavy favorite to make the College Football Playoff (-165 at DraftKings) in part because of what Leonard provides at the quarterback spot. Notre Dame has to keep him on the field and keep him upright.
Tosh Baker and Aamil Wagner, who were both competing at right tackle, now look like the likely starters when the Irish open the season against Texas A&M on Aug. 31. Baker, a fifth-year senior, has appeared in 37 games during his Notre Dame career but has only made 2 starts and has played just over 300 combined offensive snaps in 4 years. Wagner is a third-year tackle with 7 appearances and less than 100 snaps played on offense.
Both are unproven. Both will be greatly tested by A&M, which has powerful defensive ends Shemar Turner and Nic Scourton to throw at teams.
At the time of publication, the line on DraftKings for the season-opener against the Aggies was a pick ’em.
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Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
