Tag: Benjamin Morrison

Two Notre Dame football stars sign NIL deal with Rhoback athletic clothing

A pretty cool deal for the Irish stars

Athletic clothing company [autotag]Rhoback[/autotag] is certainly familiar with Notre Dame athletes, as they signed running back [autotag]Audric Estime[/autotag] to a Name, Image, and Likeness deal last year.

They went back to South Bend this fall again was announced on Thursday and Friday that quarterback [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] and cornerback [autotag]Benjamin Morrison[/autotag] had inked deals with Rhoback as part of it’s “EARN IT” campaign.

The two will certainly be wearing some the their clothing, which range from polos, shorts, shirts for both men and women. Like any NIL deal, you always wonder how the company will handle the athletes, so we should see both of them as part of this marketing venture.

There have been plenty of unique NIL deals across the country, but this one is pretty mainstream.

Congrats to Riley and Ben for getting together with Rhoback.

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Three Notre Dame players make Pro Football Focus’ college football top-50 in 2024

The Irish continue to see its players on top lists

All-American lists, preseason watch lists and now top player lists have had plenty of Notre Dame football flavor to them.

Pro Football Focus has joined in the fun, as they ranked the top-50 players in college football for the 2024 season. Three Irish stars made the list, but there is an argument for more, like there have been with others.

Cornerback [autotag]Benjamin Morrison[/autotag] was the top Notre Dame player, checking in at No. 7. Defensive tackle [autotag]Howard Cross III[/autotag] was next at No. 20, while tight end [autotag]Mitchell Evan[/autotag]s came in at No. 47.

The omission of safety Xavier Watts is questionable, as he is clearly one of the best players in the country.

My guess is that he just missed the cut, but it’s still surprising to see yet another list not naming him. Either way, having three players is still impressive, which shows that Notre Dame has some star power in 2024.

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Benjamin Morrison believes this Notre Dame freshman will be better than him

Wouldn’t that be something

Since it’s becoming more common for high school seniors to enroll at their college destinations early, programs like Notre Dame football get an opportunity for its upperclassmen to see how good the freshman are.

For All-American candidate [autotag]Benjamin Morrison[/autotag], one player has stood out to him during his short tenure in South Bend:[autotag]Leonard Moore[/autotag]. The soon-to-be early entry NFL draft prospect shared his thoughts with Jack Soble on the Texas native saying he “will be better than I will be here. He’s a special kid.”

The Irish have made it a habit of finding lower ranked players and developing them into quality players. The offensive line might have one from the 2024 class, and it looks like the secondary does as well.

Moore had a solid ranking coming out of high school. He was the No. 430 overall prospect on the 247Sports composite. None of that matters now; he is showing his teammates and likely the coaching staff he belongs.

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ESPN names two Notre Dame players to its preseason All-American team

Not as many as you would have expected

The preseason prognostications are flowing, and there has been a certain Notre Dame-flavor to a good portion of them.

We have seen members of the Irish be named to watchlists, while others have been named to preseason All-American teams. Yet another one was released, as ESPN wasn’t as high on Notre Dame as other outlets.

Two Irish stars made their list, on the first-team it was cornerback [autotag]Benjamin Morrison[/autotag] getting the nod, as Chris Low believes he’s “one of the nation’s elite corners.”

Safety [autotag]Xavier Watts[/autotag] was selected to the second-team, giving Notre Dame a pair of top defenders roaming its secondary.

There’s an argument to be made that defensive tackle Howard Cross III should have at least made the second-team, as he’s been on numerous other preseason lists. He’ll just have to show them during the season why he’s All-American-caliber.

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Notre Dame defensive backs coach named second best in college football

How effective will the secondary be this year?

A lot of things can determine whether or not a college football unit is strong. Players can lift up coaches as well as the other way around. We don’t know if that’s the case at Notre Dame, but one definitely could make that case.

[autotag]Mike Mickens[/autotag] is the Irish’s defensive backs coach, and he’s blessed to have future NFL first-round pick [autotag]Benjamin Morrison[/autotag] as part of his unit, not to mention another future NFL player in [autotag]Xavier Watts[/autotag].

Whether Morrison and Watts have anything to do with it or not, Big Game Boomer, the college football list aficionado on social media, has listed Mickens as the second-best defensive backs coach in the sport:

The Irish widely are expected to have a strong defensive unit again this season, and the defensive backs should be a major reason why. Mickens has plenty of talent there, and he now must figure out how to get his players to be in sync with one another.

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Three Notre Dame players on the Chuck Bednarik Award preseason watch list

This trio will lead the Irish defense this fall

The [autotag]Chuck Bednarik Award[/autotag] is given out annually to the top defensive player in college football, and Notre Dame defensive tackle [autotag]Howard Cross III[/autotag] almost made it as a finalist last year.

As for the 2024 season, the award committee believes that three Irish players are worthy enough to take home the award as the season is set to start: Cross, cornerback [autotag]Benjamin Morrison[/autotag] and safety [autotag]Xavier Watts[/autotag].

All three of them recently were named onto the USA TODAY preseason All-American teams, so this inclusion should not surprise anyone. It’s the latest preseason honor for the trio of Notre Dame players, as each of one them have been named to other watch lists as well.

Cross made multiple second-team All-American lists last year, while Morrison was a Thorpe Award semifinalist. Watts is the most decorated of the three, taking home the Bronko Nagurski Trophy while being a unanimous All-American.

The top three Irish defenders will once again be in the mix for a variety of national awards.

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Two Notre Dame defenders to watch ahead of Texas A&M’s 2024 season opener

Here are two Notre Dame secondary starters that could pose a problem for Texas A&M

Texas A&M’s 2024 season opener vs. Notre Dame is just three weeks away, and before we flood you with preview after preview concerning the all-important matchup, here’s a quick look at two Fighting Irish defenders that could give starting quarterback Conner Weigman fits throughout the night.

While Aggies’ head coach Mike Elko will be facing his former Duke quarterback Riley Leonard for the first time since both departed for greater pastures, the play of starting Irish cornerback Benjamin Morrison and starting safety Xavier Watts, who look like two of the best players on Notre Dame’s entire roster, will be the difference.

Credit to Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman, as the program’s defense has continued to load up every season despite transfer portal and NFL draft departures. Morrison is consistently ranked as the No. 1 CB prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Standing at 6-0 and 190 pounds, Morrison’s elite man coverage skills resulted in 31 tackles, ten pass deflections, and three interceptions on the year, and he will likely line up with Texas A&M wide receivers Noah Thomas and Jahdae Walker on the outside.

Watts, who thrives in coverage after notching seven interceptions last season, can also thrive in the box against the run, recording 52 tackles on the year. However, I’d expect Texas A&M OC Collin Klein to run the ball as much as possible while setting up play-action attempts, an area in Weigman thrived in four games during the 2023 campaign.

Since this is the first game for both programs, expect the unexpected on both sides of the ball, but know that Benjamin Morrison and Xavier Watts are two players who could change the game on a dime.

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Notre Dame cornerback Benjamin Morrison earns high Pro Football Focus ranking

The Irish corner is still elite

Notre Dame cornerback [autotag]Benjamin Morrison[/autotag] is the second-ranked corner for next year’s 2025 NFL Draft, according to Pro Football Focus.

The Irish star slots in behind Michigan’s Will Johnson and ahead of Colorado’s Travis Hunter among the top three players at the position.

Morrison, a junior, had 31 tackles – 25 solo – and three interceptions in 2023. His 2022 season was also impressive with 33 tackles, 22 solo tackles, and six picks, one of which led to a touchdown. He defended 10 passes last season, as well.

Not only that, the former Freshman All-American turned to the other side of the ball and caught a touchdown pass on offense that season.

Morrison will be expected to be a stalwart on a strong Notre Dame defense that held Ohio State to just 14 points last year – but also had lapses against Clemson and Louisville. If Morrison continues to play at the same level, he will definitely be looking at an early draft selection in the spring.

The other that made the list were: Arizona’s Tacario Davis, Ohio State’s Denzel Burke, Iowa’s Sebastian Castro, Texas’s Jahdae Barron, Virginia Tech’s Dorian Strong, Louisville Quincy Riley, and Kentucky’s Maxwell Hairston rounded out PFF’s top 10 corners for next spring’s NFL Draft in Green Bay.

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ESPN says Notre Dame is one of the top teams with NFL talent in 2024

How many Irish players do you think get selected in April?

It’s always a good sign when your team is littered with NFL prospects, and it looks like that will be the case for Notre Dame football in 2024.

ESPN draft analyst Jordan Reid broke down the top teams with next level talent (subscription required), and the Irish were in his top tier. He believes that up to 11 Notre Dame players could hear their named getting called in late April of 2025.

Reid states the obvious, that cornerback [autotag]Benjamin Morrison[/autotag] is the Irish’s top NFL prospect, while naming defensive end [autotag]R.J. Oben[/autotag] as the sleeper to watch. Safety Xavier Watts stock is close behind his secondary mates, while defensive linemen Rylie Mills and Howard Cross III are behind in that unit.

Quarterback Riley Leonard “could rocket up draft boards” as Reid states, while tight end Mitchell Evens could reaps the benefits of Mike Denbrocks more pass-friendly offense.

Notre Dame had just three players drafted in 2023, while seven got picked during the 2024 edition. If Reid is correct, this would be most since 1993, when the Irish had 10 selected in the draft.

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Benjamin Morrison Photo Gallery at Notre Dame

Notre Dame has one of the finest cornerbacks in college football in 2024. See the best photos of Benjamin Morrison during his time at ND.

Notre Dame returns one of the nation’s very best cornerbacks in 2024 as sophomore Benjamin Morrison is pegged to be starting for the third-straight season.

Morrison had an epic freshman year which included a pick-six for the ages against Clemson and a slew of other highlights.

He was thrown away from more as a sophomore but still just as good.  He held third overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft, Marvin Harrison, Jr. to his lowest output of his All-American season.

What’s in store for Benjamin Morrison in 2024?

Many think it’ll be his final season at Notre Dame as he projects by many to be a first round pick in the 2024 NFL draft.

Check out the best photos of Morrison during his two years at Notre Dame to date below.