Notre Dame Football 2024 Preview: Curious Case of Benjamin Morrison

Notre Dame standout is a star, but how healthy can he get in a month?

Benjamin Morrison CB of the Fighting Irish at practice at the Fighting Irish Athletic Center at Notre Dame on Thursday July 27, 2023. / MATTIE NERETIN / USA TODAY NETWORK

Notre Dame football opens its fall camp ahead of the 2024 season on Wednesday and it can't possibly come soon enough.

2024 promises to be a season unlike any other in the history of college football and Notre Dame will enter it with high expectations.

Anything short of making the new 12-team playoff will be a disappointment and even making the playoff but not winning a game will leave a bit of an empty feeling for Notre Dame fans.

One of the biggest pieces of Notre Dame's 2024 puzzle is All-American cornerback Benjamin Morrison.

Benjamin Morrison An Extremely Talented Cornerback

It's one thing to say that Notre Dame has one of the best cornerbacks in all of college football.

It's entirely another when you examine what that asset does for an entire defense.

Let's make it clear, Benjamin Morrison is on the shortest of lists when it comes to the cornerbacks in all of college football. There is a reason that Marvin Harrison, Jr., the fourth-overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft, had just 32 receiving yards in the 2023 meeting between Notre Dame and Ohio State.

A very large part of that reason is Benjamin Morrison, who kept Harrison in check the entire evening.

Notre Dame had the nation's best defense in terms of pass efficency last year and it takes an entire defense to do that, but having a true shutdown corner allows the other 10 players to do so much more - specifically the other defensive backs.

Morrison was good enough from day one at Notre Dame that he saw considerable playing time as a true freshman in the season opener at Ohio State.

By November of the 2022 season Morrison was a machine. He intercepted a pair of passes in beating Clemson, three interceptions against Boston College, and capped the year with an interception against South Carolina.

He was thrown away from more in 2023 but was still able to record three intreceptions and successfully defend 10 passes.

Benjamin Morrison coming off significant injury this spring

Because transfer quarterback Riley Leonard had to have surgical cleanups on his previously injured ankle, the quarterback missed the spring game and his health was discussed at length all spring and into the summer.

When you're discussing the health of a prized transfer quarterback it takes away from the focus being on another player's health - in this case Benjamin Morrison.

Notre Dame football's PR team tweeted out the news of Morrison having surgery on March 26, over three weeks before the spring session closed with the annual Blue-Gold Game.

Junior cornerback Benjamin Morrison underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder Monday, March 25, with Dr Brian Ratigan.

Morrison is expected to return for the 2024 football season.

— Notre Dame Football PR Team (@NDFootballPR) March 26, 2024

Will Benjamin Morrison be ready for Notre Dame-Texas A&M opener?

The million-dollar question around Notre Dame's defense ahead of the 2024 season is if Benjamin Morrison will be ready to go for the Texas A&M game.

The announcement of his surgery came on March 26, five months and five days before Notre Dame's scheduled opener against Texas A&M.

In late May, Marcus Freeman was asked about when Benjamin Morrison would be ready to go. At that time he said "Sometime close to Texas A&M".

That leaves the door open as to how soon Morrison is ready to go full-tilt in fall camp.

The sooner the better as even if you're an All-American and a potential first-round NFL draft pick, the less rust the better once games begin.

There is no reason to think Morrison won't be ready to go by the time the Texas A&M game rolls around, but the question of what level he'll be will be one of the biggest things to look out for as Notre Dame opens camp next week.

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