Elite 2023 Notre Dame OL Target Charles Jagusah Previews Announcement

He may have set an end date for his recruitment, but the process isn’t over just yet for Charles Jagusah‍.

“I've still got to announce it in a couple of days, but it's nice to not have the stress on me anymore,” the elite 2023 Illinois offensive lineman told Irish Sports Daily.

Jagusah is set to announce his decision between Notre Dame and Michigan on Thursday evening.

The two schools have been major factors in his recruitment from the start, but Jagusah said the Irish really boosted up the list when Marcus Freeman was hired as head coach and Harry Hiestand as offensive line coach.

“When the new staff came in, I really connected with them well,” Jagusah said. “But I'd say they've always been two schools that have been pretty high on my list.”

Notre Dame’s academic prowess has always stood out to Jagusah, but so has Michigan’s.

“They're also pretty strong academically,” he said of the Wolverines. “They've got a lot of flexibility with what you can do there. I had a pretty good relationship with (Michigan offensive line coach Sherrone) Moore.

“I think that was a big thing for me as well. It felt like a school that might be a good fit for me.”

Jagusah took a flurry of official visits earlier in the month – a weekend visit to Missouri, followed immediately by a weekday visit to Arkansas before squeezing in Michigan and Notre Dame in a single weekend.

“It kind of just helped me to get in and compare each one and look at the benefits, but also the drawbacks,” he said of the officials.

“I think it was nice not having them spread out throughout the month because you could really see them all right then and compare them right then.”

After completing his officials last week, he talked about possibly waiting a few weeks before finalizing his decision, but Jagusah didn’t need that long.

“I took a couple days and then honestly, I was thinking about a few different things,” he said. “I had to call and touch base with a couple different coaches and ask the last couple questions. I just woke up and felt like I had a good idea.”

The Irish are hoping to add Jagusah to a 2023 offensive line haul that already includes Sam Pendleton‍, Sullivan Absher‍, Joe Otting‍ and Elijah Paige‍.

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