Benjamin Morrison’s season is done, and the standout Notre Dame cornerback’s college career likely is too.
On Monday, Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman revealed that the preseason All-American cornerback has a hip injury that will require season-ending surgery, which is all but certain to close the book on Morrison’s time in an Irish uniform. The captain could be a first-round pick next spring, as he’s projected to go that high after two-plus standout seasons at Notre Dame. He broke into the lineup in his first game at Ohio State in 2022 and never left.
Losing Morrison is a devastating blow to No. 12 Notre Dame’s defense, although the Irish have two capable cornerbacks in sophomore Christian Gray and freshman Leonard Moore. Gray has started all season except for missing the Louisville game with a shoulder injury. Moore started in his place, moving up the depth chart after sophomore Jaden Mickey left the team in September to save a year of eligibility with plans to transfer.
At full strength, Notre Dame’s secondary is among the best in the country, as the Irish rank No. 5 in pass efficiency defense. Morrison was second on the defense in snaps played, behind only All-American safety Xavier Watts.
“Obviously, it’s a blow to our team,” Freeman said. “You lose a captain, a great football player. You feel terrible for the kid because he gives football, he gives preparation everything he has. It’s tough. He’s a tough kid, a tough individual. He’s been through this before.”
Morrison underwent shoulder surgery last offseason, which was expected to delay his training for his junior year. Instead, Morrison took contact on the first day of training camp and was never in doubt to start in Week 1 at Texas A&M.
Notre Dame injuries adding up
Morrison’s injury is the latest in a rash of season-ending — or at least season-alerting — injuries suffered by Notre Dame football this season.
The Irish have already lost center Ashton Craig and defensive ends Boubacar Traore and Jordan Botelho for the season with torn ACLs. Projected starting left tackle Charles Jagusah was lost for the season with a shoulder injury during the first week of preseason camp. Guard Billy Schrauth and receiver Jordan Faison have missed most of the first half of the season with ankle injuries. Heading into Saturday’s game against Georgia Tech, even kicker Mitch Jeter is questionable with a groin injury, which sidelined him much of the win against Stanford. Tight end Cooper Flanagan (ankle) and defensive linemen Gabriel Rubio (foot) and Joshua Burnham (ankle) have also missed time.
Freeman expressed confidence in Notre Dame strength and conditioning staff just last week after hiring Loren Landow after a six-year run with the Denver Broncos.
“I think that’s something we always evaluate. Is there something different that we could have done or should be doing moving forward?” Freeman said. “And so again, I think you’ve always got to try to look for cause and effect, but you also can’t make something up, right?
“And so our sports performance team is a team that I have so much confidence in terms of the way we prepare, the way we get our athletes ready to go. This is just a part of the game, and injuries happen, but you always look for ways to prevent injuries, but you also have to make sure you’re prepared. So, there is no perfect formula, but I’ll tell you every day, every week that we meet, we always look for a way to improve.” — Pete Sampson, Notre Dame beat writer
What is Morrison’s NFL Draft outlook?
An athletic, technically sound cover man, Morrison is unsurprisingly well-liked by NFL scouts. He isn’t a slam-dunk first-rounder for every team because of play strength issues, which pop up on tape in the run game and when he gets physical with bigger receivers. But teams love his patient, balanced process to stay attached to routes and make plays on the ball.
Questions about durability will be part of his draft profile after shoulder surgery this offseason and now hip surgery. The recovery timeline is unknown right now, but teams will obviously be hopeful he can return to football shape for pre-draft workouts in the spring. — Dane Brugler, NFL Draft writer
(Photo: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
