Scouting Profile: Benjamin Morrison - CB - Notre Dame
Sales Pitch: Sticky man coverage player with a feisty temperament. His smaller frame and history of hip injuries are a concern, but he is one of the best pure coverage players in this class.
*Gold Numbers Indicate NCAA T-25 for 2024*
Scouting Report
Benjamin Morrison is a former 4-Star recruit from Arizona. He was an instant starter at Notre Dame where he was a Freshman All-American. Morrison is a three year starter who logged over 600 snaps each of his first two years before getting his 2024 season cut short due to injury. The injury, a surgery to his hip, is his second of his young career and will be cause for concern for many teams.
Morrison is quick footed coverage player with fluid movement skills. He displays the intelligence and physical ability to live in man or zone coverage. Morrison is a feisty player who likes to get hands on receivers. He shows quick feet and hands at the line of scrimmage to stay with targets. He has fluid hips and easy long speed to open up and run down the field. Even when Morrison gets beat off the line, he has the recovery burst to quickly get back in phase. He has shown the ability to stay attached to his man at all three levels of the field. Morrison is an instinctive coverage player with a good feel for space. He is quick to close out of coverage on ball carriers or throws. He has put up good ball production in his career with 9 INTs and 12 PBUs. He has the body control and hands to create splash plays coming downhill or with his back turned.
Morrison, at around 193 pounds, isn’t the biggest player, and given his injury history it will be a concern for some teams. Bigger WRs are able to power through him at the line of scrimmage. They also show the ability to wall him off at the top of routes and at the catch point. Morrison is a very good athlete, but doesn’t always trust his lower half. He can be quick to open up his hips and expose his inside shoulder in press. His feet and punch timing at the line of scrimmage are inconsistent and often forces him to play catch up. Morrison’s physicality as a coverage player is great but it does generate a lot of flags. His grabby play style is not very subtle and easily spotted by refs. Morrison’s physicality in coverage also doesn’t translate to run defense. He is disinterested in being involved in run fits. Even when he does come up to help, he lacks the size to play through blocks or stop backs as a tackler.
Morrison profiles as an outside coverage corner who can play man or zone. Team will likely have big questions about his hip and the long term durability of his frame, but he is an excellent mover with multiple years of strong coverage tape. Morrison projects as a Day-2 pick with Round-1 upside as long as the medicals all check out.