benjamin morrison It won't be suitable for Notre Dame's Blue-Gold game on April 20th.
Notre Dame's football program announced Tuesday that the star cornerback was sidelined with a right shoulder injury that required arthroscopic surgery on Monday. This officially ends his participation in spring practice, but the program expects him to return in the fall for the 2024 season.
Morrison was one of Notre Dame's most important defenders in his first two seasons with the program. After being promoted to the starting lineup, Morrison intercepted six passes and broke up four more to be named a Freshman All-American in 2022. Morrison played in all 13 games, starting nine of them, but finished with 33 tackles and one tackle for a loss.
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Although Morrison didn't match his freshman interception total as a sophomore last season, he did manage to influence more passes with three interceptions and 10 pass breakups. Morrison started 11 games and played in 12 games. He missed the game against Pittsburgh with a quadriceps injury and did not start in Navy's season-opening triple-option game.
Despite missing one game, Morrison ranked third on the team in defensive snaps (621) behind unanimous All-American safety. Xavier Watts (708) and linebacker JD Bertrand (647), by Pro Football Focus.
At 6 feet tall and 186 pounds, Morrison is a candidate to be a three-and-done player at Notre Dame if he plays one more season. PFF gave Morrison a coverage grade of 84.6 last season, ranking him 22nd in the FBS among cornerbacks with at least 300 coverage snaps. He finished 23rd in that category as a freshman with a coverage grade of 82.2.
In two seasons combined, according to PFF, Morrison allowed 47 catches on 102 targets (46.1%) for 575 yards and four touchdowns.
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In Morrison's absence, junior Jayden Mickey and sophomore Christian Gray are expected to be first-team cornerbacks. The two competed last season for the vacant starting spot opposite Morrison, which was held by NFL-bound Cam Hart.
Mickey made three starts and appeared in 24 games in two seasons. He totaled 20 tackles, one interception, and two pass breakups. Gray played in 12 games as a freshman, recording 11 tackles, one interception and two pass breakups. Both at Notre Dame he earned a four-star rating and ranked in his Rivals250 for their respective classes.
Notre Dame's remaining scholarship cornerback options this spring include graduate student Clarence Lewis, senior Chance Tucker and sophomore Micah Bell. Lewis and Bell are competing at nickelback with Arizona State graduate transfer Jordan Clark. Freshmen Leonard Moore (four-star recruit) and Carson Hobbs (three-star recruit) are not scheduled to arrive until June.
Morrison's surgery was the second on a player projected to be Notre Dame's starter last week. On Friday, quarterback Riley Leonard underwent his second surgery of the year on his right ankle. Leonard is expected to be out for “several weeks.”
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