Just when everything was going so well for the Notre Dame football team, an injury to offensive lineman Charles Jagusah represents what could be a massive setback.
Even more unfortunate than the setback itself is how familiar this all feels to the Fighting Irish. Jagusah has missed an awful lot of time for Marcus Freeman's squad. He'll almost certainly miss more time this season, though how much is still very much up for discussion.
On Sunday morning, the Notre Dame football team announced that Jagusah suffered a broken arm after a UTV accident in Wyoming. The timing of the accident is even worse as it's so close to the start of fall camp.
Notre Dame football injury: Charles Jagusah’s broken arm forces O-line shake-up
Now the Blue and Gold will have to find someone who can take Jagusah's spot in the starting lineup. And a unit that many have said could be the best in the country is already scrambling to figure out which backup will become the starter, at least for a few weeks.
So who steps in? Sullivan Absher is the guy who most likely gets the first crack. He's got the same kind of size advantage as Jagusah, and he's gotten enough time in practices and scrimmages that the hope would be he can step right in.
There's also a chance that true freshman Will Black could step up and show his Blue Chip potential right away. The problem there is that he won't be an official member of Notre Dame's squad until he reports to campus later this month.
It's not realistic to expect Black to learn his position and step into the starting role so quickly. Granted, his talent is such that he could end up a starter sooner rather than later.
Regarding Jagusah, it's an unfortunate injury, as he has only played in four games during his Notre Dame football career. He has shown great promise in those games, but his inability to avoid injuries, even when they're freak injuries, could eventually have the Irish coaching staff run out of patience.