Major Blow for Notre Dame: Projected Starter Needs Another Surgery

One of Notre Dame's key pieces on the offensive line is still dealing with issues from a 2025 accident.

Projected starting offensive guard Charles Jagusah, who broke his arm in an ATV accident last Fourth of July, is set to undergo a fifth surgery on his arm Wednesday.

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman met the media ahead of Spring practice on Wednesday, as did director of sports medicine Rob Hunt and director of football performance Loren Landow.

Notre Dame Football: Charles Jagusah Update

You may recall, Charles Jagusah was a big-time recruiting prospect in the 2023 class. Although he didn't see the field much his freshman season, Jagusah did start the Sun Bowl to conlcude the year at left tackle.

Jagusah went into the 2024 season as a projected starter, but a torn pectoral in fall camp put an end to his season before it could begin. To his credit, Jagusah did rehab and played a key part on Notre Dame's offensive line during the College Football Playoff run that season.

Charles Jagusah can't practice as he recovers from the injury he suffered in a UTV accident last month, but he's been a valuable resource for fellow Notre Dame offensive linemen in camp.

"He is always engaged. He's always locked in...That's just the type of person that he is." pic.twitter.com/FP7hDwAfuq
— Tyler Horka (@tbhorka) August 3, 2025

Everything was set up for Jagusah to take the next step and theoretically become the next great Notre Dame offensive lineman in 2025. However, an ATV accident on the Fourth of July last season left Jagusah with a broken arm, something he's still trying to come back from.

Hunt announced on Wednesday that Jagusah will be undergoing a fifth surgery on the arm this week, with hope that he'll finally be good to go afterwards. However, Hunt didn't give any timetable as to when to expect Jagusah back, after describing Jagusah's recovery "a bumpy road" to date.

Nick Shepkowski's Quick Thought:

How is Notre Dame's offensive line going to be in 2026? With an obvious step back at running back as Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price are off to the NFL, the offensive line can do a lot to bridge that gap.

However, if its not healthy as a unit then the chances of that happening aren't exactly great.

The thing is, it's not just Jagusah that has to be worried about in that regard. Projected starting center Ashton Craig is out for spring ball as well, as he's coming off a torn ACL last season.

This Notre Dame team clearly has the potential to be something special. The regular season is one where anything less than 11 wins would be considered an epic failure, but what happens in the postseason?

I often wonder what would have happened had Notre Dame had a healthy offensive line in the 2024 season when it played Ohio State. It's only March but if we're being honest, I'm already having fears I could be wondering the same thing in a matter of months.

I hope Jagusah will get his arm right and reach his full potential, but I'm not sold we see Jagusah wear a blue and gold uniform again.