Notre Dame injury updates: Pete Thamel gives latest on Fighting Irish stars vs. Ohio State

ESPN’s Pete Thamel provided the latest on a few injured Notre Dame players for Monday night: Jeremiyah Love, Beaux Collins and Charles Jagusah.

They are all slated to go against Ohio State in the national championship. In the case of Jagusah, he’s expected to start at left tackle after returning from injury and playing in the last two games as a reserve.

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“Jeremiyah Love, he told me in the Oregon Bowl he was only 75 or 80% in that game, he had 11 carries for 46 yards,” Thamel said on College Football Live. “He told me tonight he expects to be between 90 and 95% really, with mental hurdles as the biggest thing left to get him to 100. I really think that in the pass game is where we may see a difference tonight, with Love. He only had one target in that Penn State game. If he has that high, high end speed, which he flashed against Indiana, he can make a difference in that pass game.”

Collins is 100% per Thamel, giving a big boost to Notre Dame’s wide receiver group. He was dealing with a calf strain.

Jagusah’s comeback from injury is pretty admirable, considering his future with Notre Dame.

“Anthony Knapp got injured in that Orange Bowl. Charles Jagusah, who was supposed to start at left tackle for Notre Dame this year to start the season, he got injured in camp,” Thamel said. “He’s come all the way back and played as a reserve the last two games. He’s worked mostly at left tackle in practice. He could get his first start of the season tonight at left tackle. He’s a big redshirt freshman who has a promising future for the Irish.”

Love is feeling good, so good that the Notre Dame running back might not even wear his knee brace.

“It’ll be a game time decision for me,” Love said via Sirius XM. “I feel really good with my knee without the brace, and it’ll just be a game time decision. The brace is great, you know, it gives me that extra security, gives me that extra confidence in my knee. 

“But I don’t really think that I need it going into this game, because it feels great whenever I’m practicing and all that. But, you know, this is gonna be one game of many more to come. So really, it’s gonna be a game time decision. And I might end up wearing it just for my security overall.”