Notre Dame 99-to-0: No. 20 Benjamin Morrison, sophomore cornerback, preseason All-American

Listed measurements: 6-foot-¼, 185 pounds.
2023-24 year, eligibility: A sophomore, Morrison has three seasons of eligibility remaining.
Depth Chart: Morrison will start for Notre Dame. A preseason All-American, he would start for every team in the country. What will be curious, though, is if Morrison travels with the best opposing receiver or focuses on boundary cornerback duties. When the Irish host Ohio State on Sept. 23, will Morrison line up across from Marvin Harrison Jr. on every snap?
Recruiting: The schools chasing a prospect tell you more than his recruiting rankings. Rivals.com ranked Morrison just the No. 30 cornerback in the class, but when defensive back-factory Washington and everything-factory Alabama pursue a cornerback, that says much more than a recruiting service’s opinion.

CAREER TO DATE
Of the three cornerbacks in his class, Morrison was the only one to not enroll early. He entered preseason practices as an afterthought, at least publicly. By the end of preseason practices, the Notre Dame coaching staff at least knew it had a contributor on its hands, hence Morrison getting 29 snaps in the season opener at Ohio State.

Then by the end of his freshman season, he had put together arguably the best debut season from a Notre Dame cornerback in distant memory.

2022: 13 games, nine starts; 33 tackles with one for loss, six interceptions and four more pass breakups with one interception returned for a touchdown against Clemson, his second pick that day.

RELATED READING: How preparation, mindset allowed Benjamin Morrison to make early impact

NAME, IMAGE, LIKENESS
Morrison’s father, Darryl, played safety for four seasons for the Washington Football Team, making it clear the genetics in the family are strong. But let’s be clear, Benjamin may not be the best athlete in the family.

QUOTES
Former Irish safety Brandon Joseph had no incentive to falsely talk up anyone on the roster from the NFL combine this spring. But when he was asked who is the best player in South Bend is for the NFL to have an eye on, Joseph did not hesitate.

“Y’all are going to be talking about how [Morrison] has the potential to come out after next year,” Joseph said. “... He’s a lockdown corner. He immediately made his presence felt when he got there. Then he has the ability to go turn his head around and go grab that ball, too.”

WHAT WAS PROJECTED A YEAR AGO
“Is it likely Morrison plays his way into the Notre Dame two-deep this fall? No. Is it impossible? Certainly not.

“Consider (Jaden) Mickey’s narrative rise — using the descriptor “narrative” because until he is seen in August practices, the insistences he will play this fall still lack literal evidence. Mickey did play well in the spring, and combining that with his recruiting pedigree makes for an understandable thought of him playing at Ohio State in 47 days.

“But how much different is Mickey from Morrison? The No. 19 cornerback in the class, rather than the No. 30, Mickey is nearly an inch shorter than Morrison.

“Could an impressive August from Morrison match Mickey’s impressive spring? If so, then Morrison may have found his way into the 2022 rotation, and the Irish will be delighted at cornerback for a few seasons, a welcome change for the defense after years of wonder on the perimeter.

“That is all obviously a hypothetical, but it is one to underscore the lack of tangible value to spring showings. Notre Dame will lean on whoever shows up in August much more than worry about anything from April.”

2023 OUTLOOK
Not to sell Morrison short, but it is hard to imagine his sophomore season will outdo his freshman season, certainly not in the case of dramatics. His interception of Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei and returning it 96 yards for a touchdown to give the Irish a 28-0 lead in the fourth quarter will linger in memory for a long, long time. The No. 4 Tigers were finally getting something going, looking to find the end zone and make it a 21-7 game with 13 minutes to play.

Instead, blouses.

Morrison’s most dramatic contributions in 2023 may be sacks, and not his own. Between Morrison and fifth-year Cam Hart, Notre Dame should have one of the better cornerback duos in the country. It has a couple options at nickel back, and senior Xavier Watts may provide the range at safety to further quarterbacks’ troubles finding downfield openings.

If that secondary holds its coverage for a second longer than usual, then the Irish defensive line should start to feast. “Coverage sacks” are still credited to the pass rusher, but Morrison may deserve more applause than anyone if he is taking away the best opposing receiver all on his own.

Snagging six interceptions again will be particularly difficult, given opposing quarterbacks will shy away from him as often as possible.

DOWN THE ROAD
If Morrison has another strong year as a sophomore, consider him bound for the NFL in the spring of 2025. Shutdown cornerbacks are too valuable, and Morrison could be a first- or second-round draft pick.

What would it take for him to return in 2025, aside from struggling on the field? NIL paydays have not much found defensive backs to this point, though there would be logic to them doing so.

NOTRE DAME 99-TO-0
The summer countdown begins anew, Rylie Mills to Deion Colzie
No. 99 Rylie Mills, senior defensive tackle, moving back inside from end
No. 98 Devan Houstan, early-enrolled four-star defensive tackle
No. 97 Gabriel Rubio, junior defensive tackle, one of three Irish DTs with notable experience
No. 95 Tyson Ford, sophomore defensive tackle, up 30 pounds from a year ago
No. 93 Armel Mukam, incoming freshman defensive end, former Stanford commit
No. 92 Aidan Keanaaina, a senior defensive tackle now ‘fully healthy’ after a 2022 torn ACL
No. 91 Aiden Gobaira, sophomore defensive end, former four-star recruit
No. 88 Mitchell Evans, the next starter at ‘TE U
No. 87 Cooper Flanagan, incoming freshman tight end, four-star recruit
No. 84 Kevin Bauman, senior tight end coming off a torn ACL
No. 83 Jayden Thomas, junior receiver, probable No. 1 target in 2023
No. 79 Tosh Baker, senior tackle, again a backup but next year ...
No. 78 Pat Coogan, junior interior offensive lineman
No. 77 Ty Chan, sophomore offensive tackle, former four-star recruit
No. 76 Joe Alt, first-team All-American left tackle
No. 75 Sullivan Absher, incoming freshman offensive lineman
No. 74 Billy Schrauth, sophomore left guard, likely starter
No. 73 Andrew Kristofic, fifth-year right guard, likely starter
No. 72 Sam Pendelton, early-enrolled freshman offensive lineman
No. 70 Ashton Craig, sophomore interior offensive lineman
No. 68 Michael Carmody, senior offensive lineman
No. 65 Michael Vinson, sixth-year long snapper, four-year starter
No. 64 Joe Otting, incoming freshman offensive lineman, four-star recruit
No. 59 Aamil Wagner, sophomore offensive tackle
No. 56 Charles Jagusah, incoming freshman offensive lineman, four-star recruit
No. 56 Howard Cross, fifth-year defensive tackle, multi-year starter
No. 55 Chris Terek, incoming freshman offensive lineman, four-star recruit
No. 54 Blake Fisher, junior right tackle, second-year starter
No. 52 Zeke Correll, fifth-year center, third-year starter
No. 51 Boubacar Traore, incoming freshman defensive end, four-star recruit
No. 50 Rocco Spindler, junior offensive guard
No. 47 Jason Onye, junior defensive tackle on the verge of playing time
No. 44 Junior Tuihalamaka, sophomore defensive end, former linebacker
No. 42 Nolan Ziegler, sophomore linebacker, Irish legacy
No. 41 Donovan Hinish, sophomore defensive tackle following in his brother’s footsteps
No. 40 Joshua Burnham, sophomore linebacker-turned-Vyper end
No. 38 Davis Sherwood, junior fullback/H-back, former walk-on
No. 34 Drayk Bowen, early-enrolled freshman linebacker, baseball infielder
No. 32 Spencer Shrader, South Florida transfer kicker
No. 31 Nana Osafo-Mensah, fifth-year defensive end
No. 29 Christian Gray, early-enrolled freshman cornerback coming off a knee injury
No. 29 Matt Salerno, sixth-year receiver, former walk-on
No. 27 JD Bertrand, fifth-year linebacker, third-year starter, possible captain
No. 25 Preston Zinter, early-enrolled freshman linebacker, subtle recruiting win
No. 24 Jack Kiser, fifth-year linebacker, third-year starter, most efficient defender
No. 23 Jaiden Ausberry, early-enrolled freshman linebacker, four-star recruit
No. 22 Ben Minich, early-enrolled freshman safety, four-star recruit
No. 22 Jeremiyah Love, incoming freshman running back, four-star recruit
No. 21 Adon Shuler, early-enrolled freshman safety coming off shoulder surgery
No. 17 Brenan Vernon, incoming freshman defensive end, four-star recruit
No. 13 Holden Staes, sophomore tight end, up 20 pounds in a year
No. 12 Penn State RB transfer Devyn Ford gives Notre Dame newly-needed backfield depth, experience
No. 4 Rhode Island transfer safety Antonio Carter gives Notre Dame desperately needed backline depth

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