Notre Dame is currently preparing for the 2026 college football season with its August fall camp. The Irish are one of the favorites to win the national championship this season, and a big part of that kind of projection is because of how good we all expect this offensive line to be each Saturday.
That offensive line took a hit this week.
Notre Dame announced that Matty Augustine broke a foot and will require surgery.
Matty Augustine (right foot, fifth metatarsal) and Chaz Smith (right wrist, scaphoid) sustained injuries during preseason practice. The injuries will require surgery, and both players are expected to return to play this season.
— Notre Dame Football PR Team (@NDFootballPR) August 12, 2026Augustine was battling with Sullivan Absher for the right guard position. While Absher was considered to be the starter this season, the word is that Augustine was pushing hard to win the role. Another interesting part of the RG story is that we learned last week that C Ashton Craig could also play guard when he is able to go 100%. So, technically, if the Irish consider Joe Otting at center and Ashton Craig at guard to be part of their best five — that will likely be the case.
The other injury listed is frshman cornerback, Chaz Smith. While this is a setback for Smith’s early development, he wasn’t expected to push for playing time this fall. In any case, he too is expected to return to the field later this year after surgery.
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