Notre Dame Freshman OT Will Black Could Be On The Field SOONER Than Expected...

AtoZ Sports

Ryan Roberts talks about Notre Dame stud freshman OT Will Black, and what role he may now play for the Irish this fall, after the injury of Charles Jagusah over the 4th of July weekend.

Transcript

00:00What role is five-star freshman offensive tackle Will Black going to play in 2025?

00:04The recent injury to Charles Jagasaw might be shaking things up a little bit.

00:08Let's talk about the most reasonable outcome and what possibilities Black could present this season.

00:16Ryan Roberts from A to Z Sports breaking down everything Notre Dame football.

00:20Folks, the recent injury to Charles Jagasaw, which we talked about last week on this channel,

00:24was a very unfortunate circumstance,

00:26but one that Notre Dame does have the necessary depth to be able to figure it out

00:30and to put together a great offensive line in the 2025 season.

00:34But my biggest question now is not so much who takes over for Charles Jagasaw in the immediacy,

00:39but the long-term outlook in 2025 for true freshman offensive tackle Will Black,

00:46who was rated as a five-star recruit.

00:47Many people considered him the top overall player in the 2025 recruiting class for the Fighting Irish.

00:52And I think going into this process, we kind of had a thought of Will Black coming in during,

00:58not an early enrollee, so he came in in the summer, 6'7", 305 pounds,

01:03out of the state of Connecticut, originally from Canada, really talented player.

01:07But as most true freshman offensive linemen, bringing them along a little bit slower

01:11is typically the best option for development.

01:14Now, this young man could have just, he may have just been the best, one of the best five on the team.

01:19And if he is the best five on the team, it is reasonable to think that at some point in 2025,

01:24Will Black may have forced himself onto the field just based upon true talent,

01:29comparative to Anthony Knapp, comparative to Emile Wagner, comparative to any of the offensive linemen.

01:34Whoever is that fifth-ranked offensive lineman, depending on who you talk to,

01:38maybe Will Black could contend for a starting job down the course of the season.

01:43With this injury, though, to Charles Jagasaw, now the major question comes,

01:46one, how does the outlook change for Will Black?

01:49And positionally, what makes the most sense if he does force his way onto the field?

01:53First and foremost, I do think that this opens up a larger opportunity here.

01:58Because the most likely outcome, I believe, is probably Sullivan Absher playing at right guard

02:02in place of Charles Jagasaw.

02:03You keep four of the five positions, the projected starters, going into 2025.

02:08If you wanted to go a different route, maybe another offensive guard beats out Sullivan Absher.

02:12I don't know what the outlook is.

02:13And also, we have to put it out in the universe, that we don't know exactly how long Charles Jagasaw will be out.

02:18I think he's going to miss a portion of the season.

02:20We'll see exactly how much it's going to be.

02:21But that is still a timeline that we do need to learn fully.

02:24But Will Black now, first and foremost, if he is one of your five best offensive linemen,

02:28is he the guy that Joe Rudolph says,

02:31you're our left tackle, this shifts Anthony Knapp inside, potentially.

02:36And I think a lot of Notre Dame fans would like that, just because it's not a dislike to Anthony Knapp.

02:42And for people that have watched this channel over the last year, I think that you know that I am an Anthony Knapp fan.

02:47I think if he's one of your five best offensive linemen, you have to get him on the field.

02:50But I do have question marks as far as, is he best served left tackle, or is he an interior offensive lineman?

02:56I was a Charles Jagasaw left tackle guy before the spring.

03:00And obviously, we know how everything had played out leading up to this injury.

03:03Now, if he's one of your five best offensive linemen, though, thinking back to Will Black,

03:06do you move Anthony Knapp inside the guard?

03:09Or do you say, you know it's an easier transition for a true freshman, to make the transition inside the guard?

03:15Left tackle is hard, man, especially for a true freshman.

03:18Will Black inside a guard, less space to have to deal with, more help from both sides, right?

03:23Like, you're not as much on an island, obviously in pass protection.

03:27You're not as much on an island in the run game.

03:30You do have a lot more help around you.

03:32So, I'm very interested to see, one, does he now force himself onto the field earlier than expected?

03:38Two, what position do we end up seeing Will Black in 2025?

03:42I think it's a fascinating conversation.

03:43Put it in the chat right now, folks.

03:45One, how early do we think that we see a start from Will Black?

03:48Is it in 2025?

03:50What week?

03:51Is it not going until 2026, 2027?

03:53I don't know.

03:54You tell me when you think that Will Black will make his first career start for Notre Dame,

03:57and at what position you think that that ultimately comes.

04:00Make sure to hit that like button and subscribe on your way out, and as always, go Irish!

Category

Transcript

Recommended