Report: Star Notre Dame Football Defender Lost For the Season Due To Injury

Notre Dame cornerback Benjamin Morrison is out for the season

Notre Dame corner back Benjamin Morrison (20) walks with his team during warm ups before a NCAA college football game between Notre Dame and Northern Illinois at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in South Bend. / Michael Clubb / USA TODAY NETWORK

Georgia Tech is getting ready for a huge showdown with No. 12 Notre Dame and some big injury news came out of South Bend a short time ago.

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman just announced that star cornerback and projected first round pick Benjamin Morrison is going to be out for the season due to a hip injury that is going to require surgery.

BREAKING: Benjamin Morrison (hip) out for the season, per Marcus Freeman. Surgery required.

— Pete Sampson (@PeteSampson_) October 14, 2024

Morrison is one of the top cornerbacks in the entire country and paired with All-American safety Xavier Watts, The Fighting Irish have the No. 6 pass defense in the entire country, allowing only 148 YPG through the air. Morrison has nine career interceptions. It is going to be a big loss for one of the best defenses in the country.

Georgia Tech is dealing with some injury uncertainity themselves. Quarterback Haynes King left the game against North Carolina on Saturday in the fourth quarter and did not return. After the game, head coach Brent Key had this to say about King

"No, we will know something soon. He's in there enjoying the victory."

Earlier today on a radio show on local station 680 The Fan, Key had this to say about King's injury:

Georgia Tech coach Brent Key, on @680TheFan, says quarterback Haynes King is, "day-to-day with it right now. We'll see how the week progresses."

— Chad Bishop (@MrChadBishop) October 14, 2024

This is going to be huge news to monitor. King is one of the best quarterbacks in the ACC and presents a huge matchup issue for defenses with his ability to run. If King is unable to go, it would likely be Zach Pyron who will get the start for Georgia Tech. Pyron started two games for Georgia Tech in 2022, a road win vs Virginia Tech and then a loss vs Miami the next week. Pyron played a lot in a road loss against Florida State, though he did not start the game (Zach Gibson did). Pyron got injured in the loss against Miami late in the third quarter and did not play the rest of the season. While King does pose as a threat in the run game, Pyron is a skilled runner as well. Georgia Tech has mainly used him as a short-yardage player this year, but in his start against Virginia Tech in 2022, he carried the ball 17 times for 66 yards. It should be noted that Georgia Tech is a much better team in terms of talent than they were when Pyron started and played in 2022.

This is going to be one of the most important matchups of the weekend and injuries are already starting to play a factor.

Georgia Tech vs Notre Dame kicks off at 3:30 p.m. ET at Mercedes Benz Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPN.