Notre Dame Has Some TOUGH Questions To Answer, After Charles Jagusah's Injury...

AtoZ Sports

Ryan Roberts talks about the shocking news that came out over the weekend, as Notre Dame starting OT Charles Jagusah suffered a fractured arm in an ATV accident over the holiday weekend.

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00:00It's July, but Notre Dame was dealt with some huge injury news over the weekend.

00:03Let's talk about Charles Jagasaw and answers that the Fighting Irish need to find

00:07going into the 2025 college football season.

00:13Ryan Roberts from A to Z Sports breaking down everything Notre Dame football.

00:17Folks, unfortunately, it was a holiday weekend that should have been a lot of fun,

00:21but Notre Dame fans were dealt with some really difficult news

00:24when it was announced that starting offensive lineman, right guard Charles Jagasaw,

00:28who's expected to be not only your best offensive lineman going into the 2025 season

00:32for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, but one of the best in all of college football

00:35is able to maintain health.

00:36He is down and there is an unforeseen amount of time ahead of us

00:40as he was involved in an ATV accident out in the state of Wyoming

00:45during a little bit of a break time here.

00:47Humorous injury that has required surgery.

00:50The surgery has already been done, but now it's just understanding what the timeline is.

00:54Depending on where you read, you're going to see two to three months.

00:57You're going to see six to 12 weeks.

00:59You're going to see a bunch of different timelines

01:01and some people are even going to say like six to nine months.

01:03The point is, is that we don't know the exact timeline

01:06of what Jagasaw's recovery is going to be.

01:09So don't want to jump off the ledge too early.

01:12Hopefully he's back in two months

01:14and this will just be a little blip on the radar

01:16and we'll be ready for just the beginning of this season.

01:20And I mean, that's just the best case scenario.

01:22And I want to be positive until I can't be positive anymore.

01:26But regardless of what it looks like right now,

01:29if you are Joe Rudolph, offensive line coach for Notre Dame,

01:31if you're Mike Denbrock, the offensive coordinator,

01:33you have to have plans in place if you are the Fighting Irish staff.

01:39So I want to throw out a couple names to keep an eye on

01:41to fulfill that starting right guard spot

01:44if Jagasaw is sidelined for a substantial amount of time.

01:48The first and easiest name for me is redshirt sophomore Sullivan Absher.

01:53The same grade as Charles Jagasaw, the same 2023 recruiting class,

01:57listed at 6'8", 328 pounds.

01:59He is a massive young man who I think immediately will be an asset in the run game.

02:05Now, he's played tackle, he's played guard,

02:07some mixed reviews at tackle as far as pass protection,

02:10but he is a mauling presence inside.

02:12And I think that would be the easiest fits, right?

02:14Like, especially if you're talking about maybe like a four-game sample,

02:17five-game sample, hopefully,

02:18then maybe you just are able to get Sullivan Absher some playing time

02:21and some starting experience.

02:23I think that would honestly be beneficial for you long-term

02:25as long as Jagasaw gets back healthy.

02:27Now you have a little bit of a, you know,

02:29you got a little bit of a runway in case something does get hurt.

02:32If he gets hurt again, you now have a guy that has some experience.

02:34I think that is the option I think makes the most sense.

02:38The second option I want to throw out there,

02:39and here I think, I don't think this one's unrealistic,

02:41but I still want to throw it out there.

02:42Redshirt freshman, Gerby Lambert, 6'7", 341 pounds,

02:47your biggest offensive player from a weight perspective on the roster.

02:50Former five-star recruit, incredibly explosive, powerful, great length.

02:55Now he has played just exclusively so far in his career at right tackle,

02:59but that physicality, that explosiveness, that run game prowess,

03:02I think that stuff all would translate great inside.

03:05So I'm very interested to see if they do give him a shot there.

03:07Now the only caveat there is he's also coming back from an off-season injury

03:10that cost him the entirety of spring.

03:13So one, what is his availability for fall camp?

03:15Will he be ready for game one?

03:17And two, a guy that's only played right tackle,

03:19do you want to mess around with the position?

03:21Now personally, I would give it a look if he's healthy and ready to go,

03:24because he might just be one of your five best offensive linemen on the team,

03:28especially with Jagasaw potentially sidelined for a decent amount of time.

03:31So I would give Gerby Lambert a look if he is healthy.

03:35Last guy, now this one's a little bit of a wild card.

03:37I have no idea if Notre Dame would do this,

03:38but Joe Otting I think is a pretty interesting player.

03:41Also a redshirt sophomore like Jagasaw, like Sullivan Absher, the 2023 recruiting class.

03:45Now he is on the roster as your backup center to Ashton Craig entering the 2025 season.

03:51And I don't necessarily think this one is likely because of the fact that Ashton Craig

03:55is also coming back from an injury.

03:56You need a little bit of insurance.

03:58But if you are able to make some things happen and move a guy if you need to,

04:03I think Otting is really interesting.

04:04Six foot four, 312 pounds, has the size to play guard, but he's a really athletic kid, man.

04:10If you remember him coming out of the state of Kansas in the 2023 class,

04:13gifted mover that just needed to add size.

04:15I, in pin and pull, screen game, get him out in space.

04:19Very interested to see if that's a route that they would even consider going.

04:22Well, who do you want to see?

04:23If today was the day to play a football game, Charles Jagasaw is not available.

04:29Who are you putting in the lineup?

04:30Sullivan Absher?

04:31You're putting in Gerby Lambert?

04:32Is there another option on the roster of Peter Jones or someone else?

04:36Chris Tarek?

04:37Who are you throwing in at right guard?

04:39Make sure you hit that like button and subscribe on your way out.

04:41And as always, go Irish.

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