Notre Dame Football: Has Benjamin Morrison Played His Last Game for the Irish?

As Notre Dame deals with key injuries, questions arise about whether star cornerback Benjamin Morrison has played his final game for the Irish.

Notre Dame corner back Benjamin Morrison addresses media after a Notre Dame football practice at Irish Athletic Center on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024, in South Bend. / MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK

Monday afternoon during Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman's press conference, he announced that junior star cornerback Benjamin Morrison would miss the remainder of the season with a hip injury.

After this past Saturday's victory over Stanford, it was determined Morrison's hip injury was severe enough to require season-ending surgery.

Morrison has been one of the best cornerbacks in college football since he exploded onto the season in 2022 as a true freshman. He arrived in South Bend in the summer of 2022 and his performances demanded playing time from the start, something Notre Dame has not traditionally seen with freshman defensive backs.

He has only continued to get better, dominating college football for 2.5 seasons on his way to multiple All-American nominations and etching his name in Notre Dame history as one of the best defensive backs to ever don the gold helmet.

𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚: All-American CB Benjamin Morrison is out for the season with a hip injury, per Marcus Freeman.

Huge loss. pic.twitter.com/TTgb1vfGC2

— Notre Dame Fighting Irish (@Insidetheirish) October 14, 2024

With his 2024 season over, Notre Dame will look to true freshmen Leonard Moore and Karson Hobbs to replace him. It is also likely that senior grad transfer Jordan Clark can move over to corner on an 'as needed' basis.

Truth be told there is no 'replacing' Benjamin Morrison, but it will be interesting to see Christian Gray and Leonard Moore start together going forward as that duo will very likely be Notre Dame's starters at corner next season.

As for what this hip injury means for Benjamin Morrison's future, the signs point to his Notre Dame career being over. Morrison is eligible to depart Notre Dame early with this being his third season and enter his name into the NFL Draft, where he is widely anticipated to be a 1st round and maybe even top-10 selection come April.

It is unlikely, but possible, that Morrison feels he has unfinished business still at Notre Dame and returns for the Irish in 2025. It would be a huge boost for the defense that loses a ton of talent this upcoming year, but Morrison would be turning down millions to come back.

The third-year corner has made significant money at Notre Dame with various NIL deals, but NFL money is different and hard to pass up. The severity of Morrison's injury, how he heals from the surgery and the recovery timetable to get him back to 100% will play massive roles in what exactly he decides to do.

If there is any silver-lining for Irish fans hopeful of the unlikely return of Morrison, he has spoke at length about the value of a degree from Notre Dame and how much he loves representing the university.

Maybe we will see a Quenton Nelson-esque return.