Notre Dame got encouraging news on a few injured players this week, but the biggest question on the offensive line is still hanging in the air: when does Matty Augustine come back?
Marcus Freeman didn’t offer much certainty during his weekly Zoom with local media. On Augustine, the message was simple and not especially revealing.
“He's progressing,” said Freeman. “He's getting better. I don't have a timetable, but he's getting better.”
That’s the kind of update that suggests a return is possible at some point this season, but not necessarily soon. It also echoes the language Freeman used weeks ago about wide receiver Quincy Porter, who still appears to be several weeks from getting back on the field. Augustine’s timeline sounds similar, which means Notre Dame may be waiting a while before it gets its right guard back.
That matters because Augustine’s injury landed at a bad time. The 6-foot-7, 315-pound lineman was in the middle of a battle with Sullivan Absher for the starting right guard job when a foot injury shut the competition down before the opener. It was a tough break for Notre Dame, and it was a tough break for Augustine too, especially after the buzz he built in the spring.
Blue and Gold’s Eric Hansen reported earlier this year that the Irish staff had taken notice of how Augustine carried himself and how he was developing. Hansen wrote on Twitter that “Redshirt freshman OL Matty Augustine is a player who's making a strong push this summer to rearrange the NotreDame depth chart,” and also included a coach’s view of where things stood for 2026.
“He’s put himself in a position to at least be a challenge. And we’ll kind of see how the fight goes.”
The numbers from last season only sharpen the point. Augustine played just 55 snaps in 2025, but Pro Football Focus graded him as Notre Dame’s top offensive lineman when he was on the field, with an 85.3 overall mark.
He also finished as the team’s No. 1 run blocker at 81.4. Absher, by comparison, logged 327 snaps and posted a 64.1 overall grade along with a 62.6 run-blocking grade.
The right guard spot has been unsettled this season. Styles Prescod opened against Wisconsin after a strong lead-in to the year, but things went sideways fast and he was replaced by Absher. Absher steadied things in the second half against the Badgers, yet his play has slipped over the last two games, and his overall PFF grade is actually worse than it was a year ago.
Through Notre Dame’s first three games, that hasn’t turned into a major problem because the closest game so far was the 27-10 win over Michigan State in Week 3. Even so, PFF says Absher’s performance has trended downward as the season has moved along.
For now, Cam Herron is the only other player Notre Dame has used with any real regularity at right guard. He got a lot of snaps against Rice and handled himself well, though most of that work came after the game had already gotten out of hand and the Owls were beaten down and broken.
The Irish can probably keep getting by against Purdue, North Carolina, and Stanford. But the BYU game in Provo is a different kind of test, and it could come down to how well Notre Dame protects quarterback CJ Carr. If Augustine still isn’t back by then, that job gets a lot tougher.
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Quincy Porter Could Give Notre Dame A Needed Boost Soon
Quincy Porter is moving in the right direction for Notre Dame, and the latest step in his recovery offers the kind of depth update the Irish have been waiting on. The wide receiver has been doing more individual work in practice as he continues to come back from a left knee injury, a sign that his return is inching closer after a long stretch of rehab and patience.
Porter had offseason surgery and then underwent a second procedure in August, which pushed back his timeline and kept him out of full-speed work. Marcus Freeman said Porter is getting closer to playing, but he still has not been cleared for full-team drills, leaving Notre Dame to keep waiting a little longer for the boost he could provide when he is finally ready. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dames 2027 Class Already Has Two Commits Turning Heads
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For the Irish, it is a promising sign this far out in the cycle, especially with both players already drawing attention as high-end names in the class. Early production does not guarantee anything in recruiting, but it does give Notre Dame another reminder that the future haul it has started to build is already showing up on Friday nights. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Already Has A New 2027 Draft Flex
Sports Illustrateds latest mock 2027 NFL draft gave Notre Dame an early jolt of national attention, slotting cornerback Leonard Moore at No. 9 to the Baltimore Ravens and quarterback CJ Carr at No. 10 to the Cleveland Browns. For a program that keeps selling both defensive talent and quarterback upside, the projections are the kind of back-to-back spotlight that reinforces how quickly the Irish can become a pipeline for premium NFL picks.
Moores recognition fits the buzz around a defender who has looked like a shutdown corner, while Carrs rise is tied to the strong passing numbers he has put up so far this season. The next test is the one that matters most for both players and for Notre Dame, because those projections will only carry weight if they keep stacking production when the competition gets tougher later in the year. [Read more 🡒]