| Notre Dame Fighting Irish–No. 20 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Cornerback |
| Class | Junior |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | March 11, 2004 Leesburg, Virginia, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight | 190 lb (86 kg) |
| Career history | |
| College |
|
| Bowl games | |
| High school | Brophy Prep (Phoenix, Arizona) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Benjamin Morrison (born March 11, 2004) is an American college football cornerback for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Morrison attended Brophy College Preparatory in Phoenix, Arizona. As a senior, he had 53 tackles and two interceptions. He played in the 2022 Polynesian Bowl. Morrison committed to the University of Notre Dame to play college football. [1]
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benjamin Morrison DB | Phoenix | Brophy Prep | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 172 lb (78 kg) | Jul 15, 2021 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Rivals:  247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80 | ||||||
Morrison earned immediate playing time in his true freshman year at Notre Dame in 2022. [2] [3] Morrison made his collegiate debut on September 3, 2022, against the Ohio State Buckeyes, collecting three total tackles and a pass deflection. [4] Against California on September 17, Morrison made his first career start by tallying three tackles. He had his first two career interceptions in an upset victory over Clemson on November 5. [5] Two weeks later, on November 19, he had three interceptions against Boston College, tying the NCAA single-game record. [6] In the 2022 Gator Bowl, Morrison added his team-high sixth interception of the season against the South Carolina Gamecocks.
Morrison finished the season with 33 tackles (22 of them solo), four pass breakups, six interceptions, and a pick-six. He was named Freshman All-American by On3, College Football News, Pro Football Focus. He was also named True Freshman All-American by The Athletic, 247Sports, ESPN, and by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA).
Morrison was named a preseason All-American by NBCSports, FWAA, and ESPN. [7] On June 9, 2023, Morrison was named the fourth best cornerback in college football. [8] On August 1, Morrison was placed on the Watch List for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy. [9] On August 10, he was placed on the Jim Thorpe Award Watch List. [10] On August 14, he was selected to be on the Chuck Bednarik Award Watch List. [11] On September 19 against NC State, Morrison caught his first interception of the season. He also added three solo tackles in a 45–24 victory. [12] In a game against No. 10 USC, Morrison intercepted Caleb Williams, setting up Audric Estime for a one-yard touchdown run. The Fighting Irish would end up upsetting Williams and the Trojans, 48–20. [13] Morrison would then be ruled out of Notre Dame's game against Pittsburgh due to a quad injury. [14] On November 1, Morrison was named a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award. [15]
| Notre Dame Fighting Irish | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | |||||||||||
| GP | GS | Solo | Ast | Cmb | TfL | Sck | Int | Yds | Avg | TD | PD | FR | FF | TD | |
| 2022 | 13 | 9 | 22 | 11 | 33 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 6 | 97 | 16.2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 12 | 11 | 25 | 6 | 31 | 3.5 | 0.0 | 3 | 14 | 4.7 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 29 | 24 | 54 | 21 | 75 | 4.5 | 0.0 | 9 | 111 | 12.3 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
His father, Darryl Morrison, played in the NFL. [16] He has four siblings that also competed in college sports.
The Bronko Nagurski Trophy has been awarded annually since 1993 to the collegiate American football defensive player adjudged by the membership of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) to be the best in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The award is named for Bronko Nagurski, who played football for the University of Minnesota and Chicago Bears, and is presented by the Charlotte Touchdown Club and FWAA.
The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) is an organization of college football media members in the United States founded in 1941. It is composed of approximately 1,200 professional sports writers from both print and Internet media outlets. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game.
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