SOUTH BEND — Injuries have limited Charles Jagusah to just three games on the offensive line for Notre Dame football through his first two seasons.

But that hasn’t stopped the coaching staff from dropping his name in the same sentence as the first offensive lineman off the board in April’s NFL Draft.

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Former LSU left tackle Will Campbell, the Tigers’ first consensus All-America offensive lineman in 20 years, went fourth overall to the New England Patriots. Campbell’s signing bonus was $28.4 million, and his four-year rookie contract will pay him $43.7 million.

Campbell, a Monroe, La., product, entered the pros at 6-foot-6 and 319 pounds. Jagusah, meanwhile, stands 6-7 and 320 pounds as he enters his redshirt sophomore season as the projected starting right guard for the Irish.

“He’s a freak,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said recently of Jagusah. “He is really freakin’ good.”

Irish offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock was the one who mentioned the Campbell comparison after spending two seasons (2022-23) with him in Baton Rouge. Denbrock gave him the start at left tackle in the 2022 opener against Florida State, and Campbell went on to start another 37 games in his decorated three-year career.

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Jagusah, meanwhile, followed another top-five pick (Joe Alt) at left tackle in the 2023 Sun Bowl against Oregon State. After experiencing so-so results in that 66-snap outing, Jagusah missed the vast majority of the 2024 campaign after undergoing surgery in early August for a torn pectoral/shoulder muscle.

After taking a few snaps on special teams in the Sugar Bowl against Georgia, Jagusah jumped in on the fly against Penn State in the Orange Bowl semifinal when left guard Rocco Spindler was injured.

In the CFP national championship against Ohio State, Jagusah started for the injured Anthonie Knapp at left tackle and went the distance. Spring practice saw the Rock Island, Ill., prodigy move back inside, this time to right guard, where Jaguash will pair with durable right tackle Aamil Wagner for a powerful right side.

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“A decision for Charles Jagusah to play guard might not mean that’s Charles Jagusah’s best position or future position as much as it’s what we need out of those five guys,” Freeman said in late May. “And I think Charles Jagusah could be a center, guard, or tackle. … When I hear Mike Denbrock compare him to the guy from LSU that got drafted to the Patriots, it’s high praise now.”

Denbrock recently told reporters that Campbell and Jagusah “never make the same mistake twice.” In addition to his size and versatility, Denbrock suggested, it’s Jagusah’s mental acuity that most conjures the Campbell link.

For players of that ilk, Denbrock said, corrections in technique tend to happen from one practice repetition to the next, rather than one series to the next. If Jagusah can stay healthy, he should have every opportunity to prove Denbrock right.

Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame football has a freakishly good lineman in Charles Jagusah