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Give him a chance to show what he can do.

The way I see it, if Jagusah isn't up to speed / strength, then at least there's a seasoned guy to fill that spot.

If CJ is good to go, then that guy is going to still play a good number of meaningful minutes, probably including some starts.

The season is much longer than it was in the past, and today's college players are significantly bigger and stronger than they were previous decades. The days of being able to win a national championship by just playing 12 games is long gone.

Given the length of the season and the magnitude of impacts that these guys take, I can all but guarantee that every starter on the team will be playing hurt in some way, shape, or form, in the second half, and having guys who can step in and spot start will benefit everyone around.

Even with the best of strength and conditioning, it's a good bet that some of your offensive line starters are going to need a week off to rest due to nagging injuries. Those earth movers are carrying heavy loads, and are constantly bashing into defensive linemen in the upper 200's / lower 300's in terms of weight. That's a hefty workload for the muscles and joints.

The 2024 season was proof of this, where all of our guys were banged up at the end, and while we had a shot at pulling it off, tOSU's deeper and healthier roster made a big difference in their ability to sustain things.