SOUTH BEND — Nobody wore black.
No one was silent or looked for a supportive shoulder to lean on. No one shed a tear or wondered how everything that seemed so right just three days earlier could go so wrong.
In other words, no one died. Everything went normally on Tuesday morning for Notre Dame Football.
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It may have felt like a funeral on Monday when Notre Dame, a potential Top 10 team, a certain College Football Playoff participant, announced that it had lost its starting left tackle, sophomore Charles Jagusah, for the entire 2024 season. Jagusah, whose next regular season start at left tackle would be his first regular season start at left tackle, suffered a right pectoral injury on Saturday that required season-ending surgery.
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The reaction was predictable. The Irish are doomed. A season that could be special cannot even come out of August. How does an already suspect offensive line bounce back?
Outside the walls of Notre Dame football, it generated curious content and stupid jokes on forums (This season’s photo!) for some hours. Within Irish football, this was not a problem.
Jagusah is gone but not forgotten, while fifth-year veteran Tosh Baker is the new starting left tackle. Put it in the pen. It’s permanent. Notre Dame moves on from Jagusah and moves on with Baker.
“Obviously, it sucks,” left guard Pat Coogan said of Jagusah’s injury. “Saturday is a low moment; It’s a sad time.”
But…
“We reload; we reset,” Coogan said. “We took a deep breath and thought, let’s get back to work. That’s the nature of the game. It’s an incredible game and that’s what happens.”
The offensive line would be an area of interest for almost anyone with a website during Tuesday’s open viewing window. So much so that Notre Dame’s media relations team made specific mention of where the group would work at the team’s secondary, all-grass training field, which is located off Twyckenham Avenue.
When the gates opened, it was like the morning rush at Costco. More than a dozen members of the media gathered in that area of the O-Line – even without any promises of free food. Imagine that.
Quarterback Riley Leonard could have made some choices. Tight end Mitchell Evans could have made a one-handed grab in the corner of the end zone (wait, he did) and the defense could have done all kinds of damage in those early quarters, and so few would have noticed.
All eyes were on the offensive line. Specifically, all eyes were on the left tackle. Who would make the main team? Baker was the winner, having switched from right tackle, where he was second behind starter Aamil Wagner.
Working behind Baker on Tuesday was true freshman Anthonie Knapp, which means this should work with Baker. He can’t get hurt. He can’t just be good. Knapp could be good one day, but he’s not good to start as a true freshman. Baker is a mountain of a man at 6-foot-3, 320. No one on the O-line has been around longer (season five).
“I love Tosh,” said Coogan, who lined up alongside Baker on Tuesday. “We have played together since the day I arrived here. I have the greatest confidence in him. We’ve been on this journey together, so I’m excited.
“I know he’s a great football player.”
Baker conveniently – strategically? – was not among the four offensive linemen who met with the media at the end of practice No. 5. As a kicker, the less you hear about him, the better. No Baker news is good news for the Irish. For this season.
The Texas A&M game is this week, Baker is their starting left tackle, a spot he last held for two games (Purdue, Wisconsin) in 2021. That was the year Notre Dame tried out a different left tackle in four of the first six games before a freshman named Joe Alt showed up and basically prepared himself for the next three seasons.
Baker started at right tackle for the Sun Bowl, then gave way to Wagner for the starting position when fall camp began. He could have left, he could have left long before this summer, but he stayed and held on. Now, a great opportunity awaits you.
Baker knows this. His O-line brothers know this.
“His competitive level and his level of care are extraordinary,” offensive line coach Joe Rudolph said. “He’s ready to go.”
Ready to make what has long been a mantra of third-year coach Marcus Freeman — tough choice. Ready to run with another tried cliché – next man up.
Ugh…but both apply to Notre Dame. Now. Next week. Next month. This season. This is football. Some guys get hurt. Other guys come in. The revolving door never stops turning.
This is hard. This will be difficult. Next week. Next month. At Texas A&M to open the season and USC to close it and everything. Losing a starting left tackle is not easy. Replacing it and moving on cannot be. This team is more than just the starting left tackle. Whoever it was (Jagusah) and whoever it was (Baker).
Thinking about losing someone early in their career would be a disservice to Leonard. For defensive tackles Howard Cross III and Rylie Mills. For linebacker Jack Kiser. For everyone there on Tuesday morning at the training camp. Tuesday was a time to turn the page and move forward. No Jagusah. This may be difficult to hear, but it is also what it needs to be.
This train is still moving. Everything about this season is still very much alive.
“As soon as something happens, boom, the next guy comes in,” Rudolph said. “They are a brotherhood. They understand that when they have the opportunity to step in and advocate for each other, it is not something that needs to be discussed.
“They know they will be stronger on this journey and so will Charles.”
Notre Dame too.
Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on Twitter: @tnoieNDI. Contact: (574) 235-6153.
This article originally appeared in the South Bend Tribune: This position could bring the biggest concerns/questions for Notre Dame football
