The season is set to start very soon for Notre Dame, and you’d love to start the season injury free, but that won’t be the case in 2026.
The Irish saw multiple players miss significant time last fall, with a few late in the year putting some question to a players availability to start the campaign. Head coach Marcus Freeman met with a small contingent of reporters on Tuesday and gave an update on a few players injury status.
Starting off with the bad news, it looks like offensive tackle Charles Jagusah will need more time, as an off-field arm injury will cost him at least a full season and then some. Freeman said that “I do believe he will play for us at some point. I don’t know when,” as shared by Tyler Horka of BlueandGold.com. Not the most encouraging update, as he also mentioned it might not be this year too.
The good news is that linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa looks to be very close to starting the season without any injury risks after hurting his ACL last fall. Freeman said that he’s not full-go to start camp, but should be able to ramp it up closer to the end and be ready. With the depth that the Irish have, there is a possibility the coaching staff slow-plays his recover so KVA is ready and fresher for a College Football Playoff run. He might not be a starter, but plays starter minutes.
The final player Freeman spoke about was transfer wide receiver Quincy Porter, who missed the spring after undergoing patella surgery. He’s getting closer to seeing the field, but isn’t quite ready to be full-go. Porter could play a big role this fall, as he was brought in to be an impact out wide.
All three players are projected starters, as it looks like at least two of them should be ready at some point this year. Notre Dame has plenty of depth, but it is still hard to miss out on what a starter brings to the table.
Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman spoke to local media and gave the latest on the injury front ‼️☘️@TJamesND has the latest: https://t.co/eC8wC5IpDopic.twitter.com/fKpHLVEehC
— BlueandGold.com (@BGInews) July 21, 2026
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This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: Marcus Freeman updates injury status on three Notre Dame starters
