Notre Dame has struggled to keep offensive linemen healthy this football season, and even more-so in the College Football Playoff. The mix of different combinations made things difficult, yet, Notre Dame continues to roll on into the national championship game against Ohio State in Atlanta.

It had to deal with Tennessee’s great line, and the Georgia NFL types, and Abdul Carter and the Penn State front. It more than just survived and advanced.

At left tackle specifically, the original starter for the year, Charles Jagusah, has missed nearly the entire season with a torn pectoral muscle suffered just before Notre Dame took on Texas A&M in College Station in Week One.

This forced in true freshman Anthonie Knapp to start in Jagusah’s spot, and he ended up doing a tremendous job all season long on the way to a freshman All-American selection.

Now with Knapp down with an ankle sprain, it is down to veteran Tosh Baker and Charles Jagusah to battle it out this week for the starting left tackle position.

The Notre Dame football PR team posted the depth chart this afternoon on Twitter/X, which lists Tosh Baker ‘Or’ Charles Jagusah as the starter. To me, this means the final decision at left tackle has not been made quite yet and may not be until just before game-time.

Baker is the veteran who has been around the program for what feels like a decade, but has never been able to lock down a starting spot. He’s a solid player, but would Notre Dame be better off putting out the less-experienced, but more talented, Jagusah?

Jagusah was the original starter, beating out Knapp and Baker, and seems to be as close to 100% healthy as he will be this season.

The other wrinkle to this, however, is if starting right guard Rocco Spindler is unable to go. Spindler was also injured in the Orange Bowl against Penn State, and the aforementioned Jagusah was his replacement in that game.

At this point, it seems likely Jagusah will be the starter at left tackle or right guard. Notre Dame needs the best starting five possible in order to beat Ohio State in the national championship game and ‘Jags’ is part of that.