Prince: Pioneers have a juggernaut in Jagusah
The Alleman Pioneers have proven to be a solid football team in the Western Big 6 Conference and now they have a gem in the program who college football coaches are drooling over.
Charlie Jagusah is a 6-foot-6, 295-pound defensive lineman, a member of the class of 2023. Jagusah is a bona fide four-star recruit, with plenty of time to make that five-star status.
The gentle giant has offers from Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri and Iowa State, and you can now add the University of Illinois to that list. Jagusah and his mother, Sheila Doak, recently made an unofficial visit to Illinois.
It was like a walk in the park getting around campus. Charlie has a brother who is a senior at Illinois, so the family is very familiar with the university.
“It was a lot of fun. I got to sit down with Coach (Bart) Miller and watch some game film," Jagusah said. "They showed me the style that they teach and how it translates to the next level. Overall it was really good.”
Even though his brother attends Illinois and his grandparents are Illinois fans, Jagusah said he is still wide-open when it comes to his college choice — adding he is going to pick a school that is the right fit for him. When asked if he expected more offers, he was humble and said he felt honored for any school to take interest in him.
Having seen some of the nation’s top basketball and football prospects and talking to them, they can be ignorant at times or just not interested. This kid, however, is a true gentleman and very respectful. It is hard not to pull for student-athletes like Jagusah, who visited the Iowa campus and made a trip to LSU.
Jagusah was a starting lineman for the Pioneers during the shortened spring season as a sophomore and more than held his own against older and more mature competition. That showed a high ceiling for his potential, and college coaches see that.
“Schools are recruiting me on the offensive side of the ball and defensive side. I would say it's about 50/50 OL/DL," he said. "The way my high school team played defense last year, it wasn't the system for me. Not that I am mad about it, they have to put a system in to help us win games. I would say I'm better as an offensive lineman, but after this year is when I will really find out...
For college, I'm trying to be a defensive lineman.”
Illinois' coaches have one unique recruiting tool that many others struggle to compete with, and that is their new football practice facility. The Henry Dale and Betty Smith Performance Center has caught the eyes of many of the nation's top recruits.
“The new football facility was impressive, I like how all of the major rooms looked out onto the practice field,” Jagusah said.
Expect to see plenty more offers come in for Jagusah in the next two years as his stock is sure to to soar.
