Charles Jagusah injury: Massive blow for Notre Dame at fall camp

Notre Dame Fighting Irish offensive lineman Charles Jagusah was poised to have a big 2024 season as coach Marcus Freeman's team seeks to make an appearance in the expanded College Football Playoff. However, on Monday, it was revealed that the prospect who appeared prominently in fall camp practices as a left tackle had suffered a season-ending injury.

The Fighting Irish's public relations social media account confirmed the news that Jagusah had a season-ending right shoulder injury, specifically a pectoral muscle tear. The Notre Dame offensive lineman will have surgery in due course.

Charles Jagusah had made the left tackle position his own with Aamil Wagner and Tosh Baker fighting for the right tackle spot. He was praised for his efforts by Freeman, who spoke to reporters about Jagusah's talent.

“He has shown on scout team, he has shown in the bye weeks and the individual drills that he’s going to be a future great offense lineman for us,” Freeman said. “Throughout the first couple of practices, we rotated guys at different positions, but he continued to flourish at that left tackle position and has done a really good job.”

Charles Jagusah was braced for a breakout season

Notre Dame Fighting Irish offensive lineman Charles Jagusah had just snagged a place on the team after finishing the season as a starter in the Sun Bowl and had secured the left tackle position during fall camp.

Jagusah played just five snaps in 12 regular season games last year before the Sun Bowl and was firmly behind departed prospects, Blake Fisher and Joe Alt, who were drafted into the NFL.

Cooper Petagna, a 247 Sports national recruiting analyst, was full of praise for Jagusah during the "247Sports Football Recruiting" podcast a few weeks ago, pinpointing the offensive lineman's talent.

"Saw (Jagusah) only 66 snaps last season across two games, but he started in the Sun Bowl, which gives you some exposure to Charles Jagusah and what he's capable of. He kind of falls in that raw developmental upside category. Watching him start at left tackle, he's obviously further advanced in the run game than he is in terms of pass pro (protection). I think he's got a long way to go there.

"He reminds me so much of Andrus Peat, who's played seven seasons in the NFL and a former All-American offensive lineman with the Stanford Cardinal — a guy that played a lot of tackle and eventually moved inside to guard."

Charles Jagusah finished the season with 66 snaps showing the increased trust that Marcus Freeman had in him going into the 2024 season before tragedy struck.