Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1491978
54 MARCH 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2023 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE BY TODD D. BURLAGE "I'll say this about Charles Jagusah, his impact and his loyalty saved this school and the program. Let me sum it up that way." — Rock Island (Ill.) Al- leman High School head coach Fritz Dieudonné, on what his star offensive lineman meant to his team T h e q u e s t i o n p o s e d to C o a c h Dieudonné was meant to be simple. "What kind of young man is Charles Jagusah?" The answer was unexpectedly complex. In the summer before Jagusah's junior year in 2021, Alleman High School foot- ball was a mess. More accurately, the entire Alleman High School community was a mess. For reasons still being discussed, this Quad Cities Catholic school along the Mississippi River underwent a chaotic overhaul through the 2020-21 school year. The departures, dismissals and resignations included the school's prin- cipal, the vice principal, its athletic di- rector, guidance counselors and 12 head coaches from its 18 varsity sports, in- cluding football. Many feared the school would close. Through the chaos, Dieudonné re- called how the nearby program "poach- ers" saw an opportunity to try and lure his best player away. "Coaches and kids were leaving our program, and kept leaving the program. It was a mass exodus," Dieudonné shared. "[Jagusah] was being told from so many that 'Alleman isn't even going to have a program, you gotta get out.'" Instead, Jagusah stayed put. "And still, Charles stayed in the pro- gram, not even knowing who his head coach was going to be. He showed tre- mendous courage," Dieudonné added. "Everybody would've fully supported Charles and understood if he chose to transfer. Who could've blamed him? But he didn't. He stayed." Dieudonné arrived at his new post as the Pioneers' head coach on June 14, 2021. That morning, a couple of hours b e fo re h i s o f f i c i a l i n t ro d u c t i o n , Dieudonné summoned his players to- gether to privately introduce himself as their new coach. Twelve players showed up. And one was Jagusah. At least 12 other top Alleman players had already transferred from the pro- gram during the turmoil and turnover. Jagusah didn't. "I stayed at Alleman just because of how much the school meant to me," Ja- gusah said. "After two years of playing for the team, I couldn't imagine play- ing for another school. I wasn't going anywhere." Desperate for bodies, Dieudonné instructed his one dozen holdouts to seek and find, "anybody you know that should be playing or that could help us." Dieudonné's team played that 2021 season with 27 players on its roster. "His decision to stay lifted the community and lifted the program," Dieudonné said of his star offensive lineman. "He's been a great leader and maybe even a better example for us." WELL ROUNDED When asked to describe himself, Jagusah succinctly answered with "unique," adding, "sports will always be my favorite, but I have many interests beyond football." Unfortunately, those other interests will come in handy for a few months after Jagusah underwent knee surgery Feb. 6 to repair a torn posterior cruciate ligament (PCL). So, to fill some down time during re- hab, Jagusah is doing what any other high school kid would do. He's over- seeing the Alleman Junior High School chess club. "I think it will be fun," he said, suggest- ing that he might even dust off the old saxophone that he played a few years ago. Jagusah explained that his full sur- gical recovery could take up to nine For Charles Jagusah, Loyalty Means Everything Head coach Fritz Dieudonné lauded Jagusah for staying at Rock Island (Ill.) Alleman High School despite a chaotic overhaul during the 2020-21 school year, noting his "decision to stay lifted the community and lifted the program." PHOTO COURTESY CHARLES JAGUSAH