Key Notre Dame OL target Charles Jagusah earns five-star status
Notre Dame doesn’t have an offensive line verbal in the 2023 class just yet, but it seems to be on the brink of a domino effect of a few commitments in the coming months.
And a prospect who is at the top of the wish list for offensive line coach Harry Hiestand and Co. is Rock Island (Ill.) Alleman’s Charles Jagusah.
He is fresh off of a 2022 Illinois 1A wrestling state championship triumph in the 285 weight class. And Jagusah’s latest honor is being bumped to five-star status according to On3.
Jagusah was already on the brink of the five-star ranking, being listed as the No. 30 player and the No. 2 offensive tackle in America with a 95 recruit grade. Jagusah will become the No. 1 offensive tackle in the country when On3 updates its 2023 class rankings next week.
“We’ve been high on Jagusah since the initial 2023 rankings last fall,” On3 Director of Scouting and Rankings Charles Power said. “Even though he was mainly being recruited as a defensive tackle at the time, we felt like he had the potential to be the top offensive tackle in the cycle. His functional athleticism and fluidity are differentiators in what is a strong offensive line group nationally.
“We’ve seen Jagusah continue to progress over the last six months. He continued to show his high-end talent on both sides of the ball. The 6-6, 300-pounder is a light-footed, flexible mover and shows very good play strength, particularly in his lower half. Jagusah also doubles as one of the top heavyweight wrestlers in the Midwest. He’s fresh off an undefeated 41-0 and state championship season on the mat. Additionally, we were able to confirm that he comfortably hits high-end positional thresholds with his length and frame.
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“It will be a fight to hold on to the top spot given the strong group at the position, but as things stand now, we felt the best about Jagusah as the No. 1 offensive tackle prospect in the 2023 cycle.”
Jagusah’s lone visit to Notre Dame was last October for the USC game, and he raved about his experience.
“The visit definitely opened my eyes more,” Jagusah previously told BlueandGold.com. “I saw pictures of campus and everything, but it’s different in person. The campus is beautiful.”
Jagusah’s head coach, Fritz Dieudonne, raved about Jagusah in a recent interview with On3’s EJ Holland from TheWolverine.com.
“He’s a young man who’s a national recruit but doesn’t carry himself like that around his teammates,” Dieudonne said. “It’s our manpower to load the gear and take it to the stadium we play at. He’s carrying stuff and loading stuff just like our other guys. That helps the team morale. We know he’s a talented young man, but he doesn’t carry himself like he’s the most important guy in the program.
“As a talent, he’s all that people say he is. He’s a talented football player. He’ll be an offensive lineman in college, but he can also play along the defensive line. He’s a special talent.”
As things currently stand before Jagusah’s national ranking update becomes official next week, he is the No. 60 player and No. 3 offensive tackle according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.
But again, On3’s own rankings will have him as a top 30 player and a five-star prospect when the changes take place next week.
Notre Dame leads for Jagusah according to On3 RPM
There is one team that is a major favorite to land Jagusah, according to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine.
The RPM gives Notre Dame a 92.5% chance to land Jagusah. Seven other Big Ten teams — Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State and Wisconsin — are also listed in his RPM predictions but only the Hawkeyes have a chance above 1%.
