Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1546555
18 SEPT. 19, 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY ERIC HANSEN F or the fourth time in his four sea- sons as a Notre Dame offensive lineman, Charles Jagusah opened a college football season as a by- stander Sept. 6. Former Irish All-American offensive lineman and first-round NFL Draft choice Aaron Taylor not only knows the desola- tion of those moments, but he also knows what the roadmap back could look like. And what can exist on the other side of it all. Because not only has the now 53-year- old CBS Sports college football analyst met Jagusah, but he's been Jagusah. Tay- lor missed his first season with the Green Bay Packers with a ruptured patellar ten- don to start his NFL career and suffered a second ruptured patellar tendon in Year 2 during the playoffs. He then came back to start on a Super Bowl championship team in Year 3 (1996 season). On Sept. 6, Taylor was back in Lam- beau Field in Green Bay, Wis., cheering on Notre Dame as it opened the season with a 41-13 victory over Wisconsin. "What was it Mother Teresa said? 'God doesn't give us more than we can handle, but sometimes I wish he didn't have so much confidence in me.'" Taylor shared on Blue & Gold's "Third & Gold Podcast." "That's the way it feels, man. "You're looking up at the sky and like, 'Dang, I know [the previous injuries were] rough, but really like this now again? An- other one? It's tough, man. And two years ago, I was at training camp and was talk- ing with Charles, met him for the first time. And he was really active, engaged and coaching the young guys. "And you just felt for him because I know exactly what it feels like to have all your dreams and aspirations that you worked, and then, in a moment, then boom — it's gone. And then to feel like you're on the outside looking in. "And no matter what guys, no mat- ter what the team does, no matter how much the trainers reach out and try to help you, no matter how much anybody does, things that can allow you to feel part of it, you still don't feel part of it." A HISTORY OF ADVERSITY The Irish rolled with a starting of- fensive line Sept. 6 that, going into the game, held a bit of intrigue at the spot where Jagusah would have started — right guard. August ascender and junior Styles Prescod battled senior Sullivan Absher to a depth chart draw, with head coach Marcus Freeman opting to start with Prescod and finish with Absher. Jagusah has been recovering for 14 months from a broken left humerus. His most recent game action was starting — and thriving — at left tackle for the Irish as an emergency replacement in the CFP National Championship Game loss to Ohio State on Jan. 20, 2025, in Atlanta. The previous game, a CFP semifinal victory over Penn State, he shined as an injury replacement at right guard. That came after Jagusah missed the entire 2024 regular season and the first CFP game, while recovering from a torn pec- toral muscle, and then was limited to spe- cial teams duty for the second CFP game. Jagusah only played four regular-sea- son snaps as a freshman in 2023, com- ing back from a high school knee injury, THE OTHER SIDE Former Notre Dame All-American Aaron Taylor knows Charles Jagusah's pain — and why he should keep believing Jagusah is still working his way back from a broken upper left arm that he suffered in a UTV accident during Fourth of July weekend in 2025 and hopes to play at some point this season. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER