He's not back yet, but Notre Dame could add a big piece to the offensive line puzzle by the time it plays BYU, and definitely by the time Miami rolls around. Matty Augustine was expected to compete for a starting offensive line job this year until he became injured. Now he's finally on his way back after head coach Marcus Freeman kept saying "a few more weeks."
Freeman changed his tune a bit during Monday's weekly press conference. “He will start practicing this week,” Freeman stated.
“He did some football-specific work last week with our strength staff and medical staff, and this week he'll get into practice. He's not going to go the entire practice and every single rep, but he's going to start doing some football-specific work within practice."
It seems unlikely that Augustine will play Saturday against Stanford based on what Freeman said. However, he's also not entirely ruling it out, depending on what the offensive lineman does as he starts practicing.
Matty Augustine return could reshape Notre Dame football offensive line before Miami showdown
“We'll determine based on how he looks on Tuesday, Wednesday, what's his availability on Saturday. Right now it's a question, but he's doing a really good job on his progression into return.”
During fall camp, Augustine appeared to be trending toward winning the right guard spot before he broke his fifth metatarsal, paving the way for Sullivan Absher to take the job. Absher has been up and down since he won the job, though he's looked better lately. Notre Dame’s offensive line has been a work in progress (something that its position coach said before UNC), but it appeared to turn a corner last week in Chapel Hill. The Irish didn’t allow a sack and rushed for 241 yards against North Carolina in a game where the weather forced both teams to focus on the run game.
“There's no risk,” Freeman said when asked what bringing Augustine back might mean for offensive line chemistry. “I think it's all reward. Matty Augustine's focus is to be the best football player he can be and the best offensive lineman he can be. What that means on Saturday is to be determined. We will continuously do and make decisions what's best for the team, but like there's no risk to it."
It would be outright shocking if Augustine plays before the fourth quarter this Saturday against Stanford. However, it wouldn't be all that surprising if he gets some mop-up time, as he looks to be in the rotation next weekend against BYU. The master plan could be to see if he could be an upgrade anywhere on the line once Miami comes to town on November 7.
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