Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM NOV. 19, 2022 17 the No. 36-ranked cornerback in the 2022 class. Everything came together in the Irish's Nov. 5 win over Clemson. Morrison made 7 tackles, broke up 1 pass and snatched the first 2 interceptions of his career. The first one set Notre Dame's offense up in- side the 15-yard line. The second was a 96-yard pick-six in the fourth quarter that drove a stake in the Tigers. "Just a mentally tough kid," head coach Marcus Freeman said. That's why Morrison could rebound from a facemask call and a couple missed tackles to make two game-changing plays. It's why he could put up his best game one week after allowing the first touchdown pass of his career on a play where he lost inside leverage know- ing he had no safety help. Why Morrison even earned the chance in the first place and answered the challenge, though, has more to do with a feel for the game rarely seen in freshmen and the self-belief it gives him. "When you have that solid founda- tion and confidence basis at corner, that's everything you need," said Troy Pride Jr., a former Notre Dame corner- back (2016-19) and a vocal Morrison supporter on Twitter during the Clem- son game. "For him to have that already is way above a lot of guys." 'GREAT RESOURCE AROUND ME' Freeman's recruiting trips to high schools are often the best resource for learning about a player's football back- ground. He can watch highlights online and talk to a recruit and his family on Zoom. He can't gauge a player's football environment without seeing it himself or talking to high school coaches. What he sees and learns then helps determine how ready a player can be once he en- rolls. He had idea Morrison could be a potential early contributor, even if the ranking didn't scream it. "Are they in a college-like system and being coached like college players?" Freeman said. "Some are playing see ball, get ball. In your mind, you think that guy might take a little more time to develop. Morrison is a guy who you can tell understands college football and the technical side of it." His football background and upbring- ing is a coach's dream. Morrison's father, Darryl, played safety in the NFL for the now-Washington Commanders from 1993-96. He roped his younger son into the finer points of the trade as soon as he was ready. Morrison had to want it him- self, but when he demonstrated the itch, his dad put him on the advanced track. "He has kind of molded me for this," Morrison said. "He never forced this on me. I knew that if I wanted to do it, I had a great resource around me." Father and son would watch film almost every night, starting when Benjamin was a high school underclassman. Sometimes, that would be turning on a college or NFL game and explaining coverages, how a cornerback defended a certain concept or how an offense attacked a certain defense. Other times, it was actual film study. "I was breaking down film by for- mation as a sophomore, stuff you re- ally don't get to until you're in college," Morrison said. "I felt I always had the advantage because of that." Morrison brought a sponge-like atti- tude to every session — when he wanted to do it. There were days where his dad's voice wasn't his preferred soundtrack, especially when it might be critical. Darryl said what needed to be said, which wasn't always what his son might want to hear. But anything that might sting in the moment would help later. "If you truly want to get better, you have to seek that," Morrison said. "A lot of people want to shy away from that, but at the end of the day, what's that going to do for you as a human?" Morrison understood the technical and schematic aspects of playing corner earlier than everyone else. Grasping the mental side, though, required more time. Playing cornerback requires a mix of short-term memory and confidence that approaches cockiness, if not out- right morphs into it. Spend even a few minutes around Morrison, and he's the antithesis of conceited. His dentist of- fice brochure smile pulls you in. His ra- diating positivity has no off switch. Maybe that's why he didn't feel like the corner's mindset was second nature until fall camp. He learned to lean into it with cornerbacks coach Mike Mickens' help. Mickens' creed for his unit — "Deny My Man" — isn't just a saying. It's a lifestyle. "When you line up across from a man, you have to deny him no matter what," Morrison said. "It doesn't depend on the leverage. You have to deny him. He has really instilled that in me. "Everyone is born with it, but you have to embrace it. You're not going to be like that from the womb." As Pride can attest — and has ob- served when watching. "When you play corner, it's the con- fidence," Pride said. "There are instinc- tual plays that hap- pen here or there, but at corner it's like, 'I'm not jittery when I get open. You do what you do, I'll match you and do what I want to do and dictate what goes on.' "That does come from early film study and having a good background." 'NO FEAR' Pride saw Morrison's No. 20 jersey trot on the field at Ohio State and knew then he was not an ordinary freshman cornerback. He found further proof when he never saw the freshman mis- step he figured would come in that en- vironment against that passing offense. Not that Pride needed more convincing, but he found it on Notre Dame's first defensive play of the Clemson game. The Tigers ran a tight end screen to the boundary, Morrison's side. Mor- rison saw it, changed direction and smashed into receiver Beaux Collins' block. He drove Collins backward a couple yards and started to disengage as tight end Davis Allen ran by. Collins held him as he tried to get off the block. "He was ready and came out with no fear," Pride said. From there, Pride observed him get in receivers' grills in coverage, as if he were on a mission to deny them. As if it was ingrained in his mind. "You kind of notice confidence things in corners," Pride said. "One thing I saw was that he is pressing almost every play. You only do that if you know the opponent isn't ready for you or if I know I'm on everything I need to be on." ✦ "When you have that solid foundation and confidence basis at corner, that's everything you need. For him to have that already is way above a lot of guys." FORMER NOTRE DAME CORNERBACK TROY PRIDE JR. ON MORRISON