For the second consecutive season, Notre Dame could begin the season with a top offensive lineman injured. Sophomore Charles Jagusah suffered a fractured left humerus in a UTV accident and underwent surgery to repair the injury, the school announced Sunday.
“The initial prognosis is favorable, and he will return to campus early this week for further evaluation and continued care,” Notre Dame’s football program said in a statement. The accident occurred on July 5 in Wyoming.
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Jagusah, 6-foot-7 and 333 pounds, is expected to start at right guard for the Fighting Irish. Whether he will be ready for the start of the regular season has yet to be determined. Notre Dame begins the 2025 season on Aug. 31 at Miami (Florida).
Notre Dame offensive line coach Joe Rudolph raved about Jagusah’s versatility and potential during spring practice, saying he “could be as good as anyone in the country.”
”If you put the film on when he was in the Penn State game and you watched him, you were like ‘Oh, who’s that dude,” Rudolph said, via Irish Sports Daily. “And you don’t do that a lot with offensive line. There’s a lot going on for a guy to stand out that way.”
“When you see someone who maybe could be as good as anyone in the country or better, you kind of keep developing in that spot as well,” he added.
Fellow sophomore Sullivan Absher will likely play at right guard while Jagusah is sidelined. Redshirt freshman Guerby Lambert could also be in the mix, though he is recovering from shoulder surgery. True freshman Will Black has not yet practiced with the team and does not have experience at guard.
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Ranked as a four-star prospect by Rivals, Jagusah missed the entire 2024 season after suffering a torn right pectoral muscle in fall training camp. Notre Dame also lost offensive lineman Ashton Craig and Billy Schrauth during the year.
However, Jagusah was able to return for the final three games of the Irish’s College Football Playoff run, playing on special teams versus Georgia, and as a reserve against Penn State and Ohio State.
