https://247sports.com/college/notre-dame/article/notre-dame-football-ot-charles-jagusah-out-for-the-season-with-upper-body-injury-234472595/

Brutal news for what was already one of the weakest position groups on the team.

1 hour ago, tneun89 said:

https://247sports.com/college/notre-dame/article/notre-dame-football-ot-charles-jagusah-out-for-the-season-with-upper-body-injury-234472595/

Brutal news for what was already one of the weakest position groups on the team.

BIG loss for sure.  That really stinks for him and the team.  Baker to RT and Wagner to LT?  Sullivan and the freshman Lambert as the 2's?

 

Well that’s not helping 

Negative: ND loses all those bowl practice reps

Positive: If they do get tackle figured out maybe Jagusah can move inside next year.

I think another positive is that this happened in the first week, not the last week, of fall camp. Gives the young guys plenty of chances to compete for the spot, and gives Rudolph enough time to let the OL develop as a unit. One of the biggest things for the OL is working together and gelling as a unit - they need to be cohesive and have great communication. Losing Jagusah is a blow, but I'd prefer we lose him now than on August 25.

As for how the OL shakes out, I thought they might move Schrauth to OT but I think ND likes him too much at guard. So, Craig, Schrauth, Coogan/Spindler, and Wagner are entrenched at their spots. 

It seems like Baker, Absher, and Knapp will be the primary competitors at OT (no idea if Wagner moves to LT or if he stays at RT). I don't think Lambert is in the mix. It sounds like he needs some development and at least a year in the weight room.

My money is on Absher. Baker is the easy answer, but we've seen him and know his limitations (not that he can't improve). The staff is really high on Absher - enough that he was actually the first OG off the bench last week during practice. He has OT size, although I'm not sure how good his feet are (that's Baker's limitation). I think he's impressed the staff enough that he will end up being the starter for A&M.

4 hours ago, tneun89 said:

I think another positive is that this happened in the first week, not the last week, of fall camp. Gives the young guys plenty of chances to compete for the spot, and gives Rudolph enough time to let the OL develop as a unit. One of the biggest things for the OL is working together and gelling as a unit - they need to be cohesive and have great communication. Losing Jagusah is a blow, but I'd prefer we lose him now than on August 25.

As for how the OL shakes out, I thought they might move Schrauth to OT but I think ND likes him too much at guard. So, Craig, Schrauth, Coogan/Spindler, and Wagner are entrenched at their spots. 

It seems like Baker, Absher, and Knapp will be the primary competitors at OT (no idea if Wagner moves to LT or if he stays at RT). I don't think Lambert is in the mix. It sounds like he needs some development and at least a year in the weight room.

My money is on Absher. Baker is the easy answer, but we've seen him and know his limitations (not that he can't improve). The staff is really high on Absher - enough that he was actually the first OG off the bench last week during practice. He has OT size, although I'm not sure how good his feet are (that's Baker's limitation). I think he's impressed the staff enough that he will end up being the starter for A&M.

Great analysis, and I agree completely!

Sucks that it happened, and I feel so bad for Jagusah, but at least it was early enough to have time to recover/plan.

I’ll be that guy and just say it, but isn’t this three season ending injuries in just one week of fall camp? Not good, and I’m already questioning S&C. Or could it be practice being too hard? Maybe I’m overreacting, but who knows?

11 minutes ago, Baldy said:

Great analysis, and I agree completely!

Sucks that it happened, and I feel so bad for Jagusah, but at least it was early enough to have time to recover/plan.

I’ll be that guy and just say it, but isn’t this three season ending injuries in just one week of fall camp? Not good, and I’m already questioning S&C. Or could it be practice being too hard? Maybe I’m overreacting, but who knows?

I dunno.  Broken foot can be an odd injury, was it stepped on or how'd it happen?  Torn peck in football is very odd IMO, not sure I've heard that happen before.  More frequently happens with lifters, especially on bench press.

2 hours ago, jessemoore97 said:

I dunno.  Broken foot can be an odd injury, was it stepped on or how'd it happen?  Torn peck in football is very odd IMO, not sure I've heard that happen before.  More frequently happens with lifters, especially on bench press.

Yeah, all good points. And I would agree that a torn pec is very odd for a football player.

Here’s to hoping there’s no more injuries! 🤞🏼

ND has good depth on the OL, albeit very untested. The OL recruiting has been pretty stellar. Last time something like this occurred, Blake Fisher went down and Joe Alt, well, became Joe Alt! Still makes me wonder why it took so long for the OL coach and BK to realize what they had with Mr Alt.

6 hours ago, jimbo said:

ND has good depth on the OL, albeit very untested. The OL recruiting has been pretty stellar. Last time something like this occurred, Blake Fisher went down and Joe Alt, well, became Joe Alt! Still makes me wonder why it took so long for the OL coach and BK to realize what they had with Mr Alt.

He enrolled in June.....and was the starter in September.  Boy....took them a long time!   

1 hour ago, 1Redrum said:

He enrolled in June.....and was the starter in September.  Boy....took them a long time!   

He also played TE in high school at 240#

It also took injuries for him to play

Ruined my day when I heard the news.  Really sucks for Jagusah but he will bounce back.

Just brainstorming here.  If we are resigned to ND struggling with pass blocking, I would consider more spread formations with 4 to 5 pass catchers.  Hard for an opposing defense to rush 5 or 6 guys if there are that many pass catchers lined up.  I would consider that on obvious passing downs mostly.   3 WRs, 1 TE and potentially motioning the back out.  

 

11 hours ago, 1Redrum said:

He enrolled in June.....and was the starter in September.  Boy....took them a long time!   

That's a good point concerning when he enrolled. If I remember correctly, the OL was a hot mess the first half of that season. The OL coach, Quinn I think, was not a popular guy on this board. Alt was the 3rd or 4th option to start at LT that year. I'm pretty sure he didn't become the starting LT until maybe the 5th or 6th game of the year. Or maybe I just have a bad memory...

My main point was that ND should have a number of pretty good lineman waiting for their chance for a starting gig on the OL. The OL recruiting has been pretty good the past few years, so the cupboard isn't bare, just not a ton of experience.

Edited August 7, 2024Aug 7 by jimbo

Not many teams can replace an injured starting offensive lineman with a guy like Baker who has played in a ton of games. We may be otherwise inexperienced, but our OL talent is elite and we have a weak schedule to ensure we're running on all cylinders come playoff time. 

16 hours ago, Frankus said:

Not many teams can replace an injured starting offensive lineman with a guy like Baker who has played in a ton of games. We may be otherwise inexperienced, but our OL talent is elite and we have a weak schedule to ensure we're running on all cylinders come playoff time. 

Unfortunately, their first opponent, Texas A&M, will have the best edge players the Irish will face in the regular season so there will be a "baptism under fire" moment. Some good news is that the Irish DL should allow some good practice reps before then.

Come on give me Guerby somewhere!!!!