Notre Dame Football: Four Players Earn Walter Camp Preseason All-American Honors
We're just a little over a month away from fall camp opening across college football and kickoff to the 2024 season being that much closer.
On Tuesday the Walter Camp Football Foundation released its 2024 preseason All-American teams and four Notre Dame players received honors.
Safety Xavier Watts took home first-team honors after recording seven interceptions last season and walking away with the 2023 Bronco Nagurski Award. His performance in knocking off then-unbeaten USC in mid-October was a thing of legends as he picked off two Caleb Williams passes, forced a fumble, and returned another fumble for a touchdown in the dominating Notre Dame victory.
Defensive tackle Howard Cross joins Watts on the first-team. Cross is back for another season after being one of the nation's best defensive tackles a year ago. He had big showings all year but none bigger than his 13-tackle, 2 forced fumble performance in a come from behind victory at Duke to close September.
Junior cornerback Benjamin Morrison is projected to be among the first cornerbacks taken in the 2024 NFL draft, assuming he leaves school early, but was only named to the second-team. Morrison has nine interceptions through his first two seasons at Notre Dame and led the Irish with 10 pass break ups last season.
Finally, transfer kick returner Jayden Harrison also took home second-team honors. Harrison transferred from Marshall this off-season where his two kickoff returns for touchdowns a year ago tied for the most nationally. His 25.4 yards per return for his career is plenty impressive as well.
Watts, Cross, Morrison, Harrison and the rest of the 2024 Notre Dame football team kickoff the 2024 season on Aug. 31 at Texas A&M in a year the Irish are expected to make a run at the newly-expanded 12-team playoff.
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NICK SHEPKOWSKI