Day six of Notre Dame training camp and how the O-Line is handling a tough loss
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Day six of Notre Dame Football training camp is underway, and the Fighting Irish are focusing on the offensive line.
The Irish suffered a big loss with left tackle Charles Jagusah tearing his pectoral muscle. He was suppose to replace Joe Alt, the fifth overall NFL draft pick.
While this is a tough loss, Offensive Line Coach Joe Rudolph says it's a part of football.
"You'll go through this, the surgery that will have this week, and we'll find out really exactly the totality of it, like, what it's going to be, and what's the recovery. Am I disappointed? Is Charles disappointed? Of course, we are man. We love Charles. We hate to see him miss one minute, let alone the possibility of missing a season, but we believe in him that he'll be back and stronger for this journey. And we also believe in the guys in that room that this journey, this hurdle that we have to take, is going to make us stronger as a group, so we'll find the answers," states Rudolph.
Jagusah's replacement has not officially been named, but Tosh Baker saw significant reps at that position today.
Rudolph continues, "We got a lot of trust in Tosh, and dude battles his tail off. We left the field last year with him on it and doing a great job at Oregon State, and it's been great competition. So, yeah, him stepping in, we got a lot of confidence in Tosh."
While the structure of the O-Line is still a work in progress, Pat Coogan feels confident in the identity of the Irish offense.
"We're going to be an explosive offense, and then we're going to run the ball, and we're going to run the ball really well, and then we're going to take shots, and we're going to throw the ball, and we're going to score a lot of points. We're going to be very explosive, and then we're going to line up and run the ball, thanks actually, Craig's gonna be next to Pat," states Notre Dame Offensive Lineman Pat Coogan.
While Coogan, maybe optimistic about Notre Dame's offense, oddsmakers not so much. Since news broke of the loss of Charles Jagusah, Vegas has since dropped the Irish to a one-point underdog going into the Texas A&M matchup in the season opener on Aug. 31.