Why another Notre Dame College Football Playoff run could be fueled by the O-line

New York Times

26-02-2025

Cole Cubelic paced the field before the Sugar Bowl, getting a better look at Notre Dame's offensive line. The SEC Network analyst and chairman of the Joe Moore Award voting committee wanted to see if the group looked the same in person as it did on tape. And what Cubelic had seen on tape made him think Notre Dame's line could more than hold its own against Georgia.
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Turns out, Notre Dame's offensive line looked better than expected. Maybe not because of the five starters who'd help the Irish win their first major bowl game in 31 years while allowing just one tackle for loss. But because of the guy warming up who got five snaps on special teams as the Irish continued their run to the national title game.
It was easy to spot Charles Jagusah with his name on the back of that No. 56 jersey. And warmups suggested the starting left tackle on the opening day of preseason camp wasn't just going through the motions. Cubelic asked a Notre Dame staffer if the sophomore might play and was told it was break-glass-in-case-of-emergency for Georgia. If the Irish went further?
'You're thinking with an extra week, maybe there's a role against Penn State,' Cubelic said. 'And then to come in there and get his first real playing time when the guys on the other side have played 13 or 14 games, he had such a good understanding of where to be and when to get there, even if not everything looked like it did in practice.'
Notre Dame OL Charles Jagusah tore his pec before the season….
Pretty damn cool to see big 56 pulling around to help that Leonard TD run get into the end zone! pic.twitter.com/PZQd2sdbxs
— Cole Cubelic (@colecubelic) January 10, 2025
Jagusah subbed in at right guard against Penn State after Rocco Spindler's ankle gave out, with grad student Tosh Baker taking over at left tackle when Anthonie Knapp went down with his own ankle injury. Eleven days later, Jagusah started at left tackle in the national title game against Ohio State, holding up against surefire draft picks Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau.
The title game marked Notre Dame's fourth different starting offensive line last season, which will change again next fall after the transfer departures of Pat Coogan, Sam Pendleton and Spindler. Still, what offensive line coach Joe Rudolph produced was good enough for Notre Dame to make the semifinalist cut for the Joe Moore Award. What the Irish bring back might be good enough to win it — and spark another College Football Playoff run as the Irish break in a new quarterback.
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'Injury and lack of a mobile quarterback might be the only thing that could hold them back. I think they're gonna ball,' said Mike Golic Jr., a former Notre Dame offensive lineman and current football analyst. 'The quality of the guys coming back and having the same voice and same backs, it's just about getting bigger and adjusting to not having that nuclear option with Riley Leonard in the run game.'
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This is all a major change from last offseason when Notre Dame kicked off at Texas A&M with six combined starts along the offensive line by choice after Billy Schrauth and Pendleton beat out Coogan and Spindler at guard. Knapp won the left tackle job over Baker after Jagusah's pectoral injury. Ashton Craig held down the center position until a torn ACL at Purdue. Aamil Wagner opened camp as the No. 1 right tackle and never looked back.
Whatever combination of linemen Notre Dame starts this season — the Irish will get a first look on March 18 when spring practice opens — it will be more experienced than last year. And there's no doubt it will be more talented if fully healthy. It's just a matter of who works where and how much.
'I'd put Charles at tackle. He's such an insane athlete,' Golic said. 'I'd be cool to see Anthonie at center. Ashton is a really good player, but Anthonie's body screams center to me. The athletic gifts that Charles has are best served on the perimeter. You could put him at guard and he'd be great. I don't even know want to say it. You know what I'm talking about …'
Asked if Golic was about to reference Jagusah being the next Quenton Nelson, the former Irish guard didn't want to say it out loud. But that's the kind of athletic potential he sees in the sophomore who's started two games and opened last camp as the most gifted lineman on the team in the eyes of the coaching staff.
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Both Golic and Cubelic praised Rudolph for getting so much out of Notre Dame's offensive line under less-than-ideal circumstances. Maybe the Irish line wasn't great last season, its rushing totals buoyed by Leonard's legs plus the big plays from Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price. Notre Dame finished fifth nationally in yards per carry (5.66) despite getting bottled up during the College Football Playoff outside of Love's 98-yard touchdown run against Indiana. The Irish were middle-of-the-road in sacks allowed, No. 46 at 1.56 per game.
But Cubelic, more versed in SEC offensive line play than Notre Dame's, compared how the Irish managed injuries to the top lines from his home conference. He played center at Auburn.
'Georgia lost a guard. That group was done. Alabama lost a right guard early in the season, totally different offensive line,' Cubelic said. 'Can you survive when you lose somebody? Hell with thrive — can you just not be annihilated? Notre Dame essentially thrived. It took a while. But they thrived in the end.'
That's part of the reason why Notre Dame may have its best chance to win the Joe Moore Award since the 2017 line that featured Nelson and Mike McGlinchey. The Irish return Rudolph for a third season compared to Harry Hiestand back for his sixth that year. Not only does Notre Dame seem to have a good culture in the line room like back then, but it may have a few future pros, too, from Schrauth next spring (or in two springs) to Jagusah, Wagner and Craig. That doesn't get to freshman Guerby Lambert, who could push his way into the lineup somewhere.
'You could probably put the guys from this room back into our room and the culture fit would have been seamless. They have really identified that position well,' Golic said. 'You're gonna have a hard time figuring out the five best of the field next year. And that's awesome for Joe Rudolph to figure out.'
Golic and Cubelic will be watching as Notre Dame looks like a Joe Moore Award contender. Other members of the voting committee include former Irish All-American Aaron Taylor and Hiestand. Who knows: Cubelic may be scouting the Irish before a College Football Playoff game again next winter.
'They have to stay healthy because that's when the continuity skyrockets. You're not just coaching double-teams and pass sets, you can start to talk about how the safety is tilting and why the corner is lined up a certain way. It's the next level,' Cubelic said. 'And that's when we might be talking about where this line ranks in Notre Dame history instead of just being really good.'
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