Notre Dame Starting Tackle Charles Jagusah Out for the Year: Now What for the Irish?

Now what for the Irish offensive line after a horrible day of news for Notre Dame and Charles Jagusah?

Notre Dames Charles Jagusah stretches during practice at the SAC on Dec. 26, 2023, as they prepare for the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl against Oregon State. / Alberto Silva Fernandez/ El Paso Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

Entering the 2024 season, the offensive line was one of Notre Dame's biggest question marks after losing both of their 2023 tackles to the NFL. Who would assume these starting roles and how would they perform?

As camp opened last week, it seemed that Jagusah was settling in at the LT role and Amil Wagner was settling in at the RT position.

After just a few short days, that plan has been upended by the devastating report that Jagusah will be out for the entire year with an upper-body injury.

Notre Dame's Weakness vs Texas A&M's Strength Just Became More Real

Even before the injury, one of the dominant narratives leading into the massive Notre Dame vs Texas A&M week one matchup was the notion that the strength of the Aggie team was their defensive front and the biggest question mark for Notre Dame was their offensive line. And this was before the injury.

Now that the Irish will have to shift their already unproven line plans around to accommodate for this brutal break, this narrative moves to the forefront even more.

There's no sugarcoating it.

Left Tackle is the most important position on the line and the Irish just lost its potental star for the entire year. Can Notre Dame withstand this and rise to victory on Aug. 31st?

How Will Notre Dame Reconfigure The Line?

After letting the initial reactions to the Jagusah news settle in, the next logical question for Notre Dame is how do they adjust their lineup. Does Amil Wagner now move to Left Tackle and Tosh Baker and True Freshman Guerby Lambert battle it out on the right side now?

Is there any chance the Irish consider moving Baker to Left Tackle and keeping Amil Wagner on the right side? Does it even make practical sense to move the player who's currently the backup on the right side to the more important blind side? Coach Rudolph has some tough decisions to make very quickly.

This Is Not The Worst Case Scenario Despite How It Feels

While this is most assuredly an awful situation to be in for Notre Dame, believe it or not, it could be worse. How so? If this bad of an injury break was ever to occur, it's much better to have it be three days into camp rather than three days before the Texas A&M game.

I know that in no way will this help Irish fans sleep easier tonight, but it is at least some piece of hope to lean on.

Notre Dame has some time to figure this new configuration out before their first game. They must make some tough decisions quickly and keep moving forward with their new healthy lineup.

Below is my initial reaction on the Always Irish YouTube channel to the news as it broke. Enjoy!

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