ATLANTA — There have been performances throughout the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff that should remind us all that players want to play on the biggest stages and at the biggest moments.
In an age where the prevalent theme of December and January in the sport is complaining about who isn’t playing — opt-outs of the full-game and halftime variety — it is enlightening to dig into who is and what they have to go through to suit up.
Start with Jeremiyah Love, the standout Notre Dame running back who battled through the flu to play in the first round against Indiana and worked through a knee injury that initially made him to vow not to hurdle anyone against Penn State (a promise that thankfully for fans he broke).
“He didn’t get a lot of practice reps,” Freeman said of Love after the Orange Bowl. “We were very calculated about what we asked him to do in practice. There was maybe a little doubt on my end, but the closer we got to the game, I said, ‘Okay, he’s going to give it a go.’ The statistics maybe weren’t there in the first half, but him being out there means something to everybody on that offense and everybody on our team. In the second half, he made some Jeremiyah Love plays.”
Love’s 11 carries for 46 yards against the Nittany Lions may not have been his standard output, but as the game went on and Love got going, the Irish needed him in order to battle back in a game that early on seemed like it was slipping away when Penn State jumped out to an early 10-0 lead. Love finished the game without as much soreness as he expected, and now his attention is turned to the ultimate prize.
“It took me a little minute to warm up, to build up more confidence in my knee,” Love said. “Going into the game, I didn’t really feel at my optimal level how I wanted to feel, but as I started to play and get more loose, everything started to loosen up.
Love says he’s 100% and ready to go for Monday’s CFP National Championship against Ohio State. He is far from the only player who played in games he did not quite have to
Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke played the entire season on a torn ACL, the second time he’d torn the ACL in his right knee. Texas right tackle Cameron Williams, a potential first-round pick, returned for the semifinal after sitting out the quarterfinal. Penn State’s Abdul Carter, a likely top-five pick, was clearly hampered after a left shoulder injury knocked him out of the quarterfinal to the point that he was only attempting to tackle and take on blocks with his right side in a valiant effort against Notre Dame. Ohio State’s JT Tuimoloau, a possible first-round pick, suffered a nasty-looking ankle injury and found his way back on the field.
Elsewhere on Notre Dame’s battered and bruised roster, there is offensive lineman Charles Jagusah, who was originally in line to start for the Irish at left tackle heading into training camp only to suffer a torn pectoral in early August. The injury was reported as season ending, but from the moment it happened Jagusah knew there was hope that he could return for the postseason.
“[Returning from it] was kind of always something that I wanted to try and do,” Jagusah told CBS Sports. “I had some conversations with some of our coaches after I got hurt, and they said there’s always a possibility that you can come back and help us out in the postseason, or whatever it may be. But for me, it was just kind of taking advantage of every opportunity that I had while I was injured in order to be as ready as I can be now, and I feel like I’ve gained a lot from the time that I had to sit out.”
Jagusah described the recovery as linear after surgery to repair the muscle, but it was a long road back. He didn’t practice at full contact until leading up to Notre Dame’s first round game against indiana. The limits to his upper body actually helped him focus on his footwork during rehab, which proved key when he was called on to play right guard in place of Rocco Spindler in the semifinal against Penn State.
Jagusah is expected to play left tackle in the national title game in place of Anthonie Knapp, but has also repped at guard in practice. He admits he’s not fully 100%, but he’s close, and in the playoff, that’s good enough.
