Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM JANUARY 2023 11 UNDER THE DOME If you saw a 2022 Freshman All-Amer- ica team, you read Benjamin Morrison's name on it. The Notre Dame cornerback was named a Freshman All-American by The Ath- letic, On3, College Football News and Pro Football Focus. He is the only Notre Dame freshman to earn such recognition so far this year. He and Michigan true freshman Will Johnson were the first-team corner- backs at The Athletic, PFF and On3. CFN's choice alongside Morrison was Alabama redshirt freshman Terrion Arnold. Morrison has played 12 games and made 9 starts this year, and he com- piled 30 tackles, 4 passes broken up and a team-high 5 interceptions. He made his first start in Notre Dame's 24-17 win over California Sept. 17. He has started all but one game since. The exception is the 44-21 win over UNLV Oct. 22, and he still played all but three of Notre Dame's defensive snaps in that contest. The 5 interceptions placed Morrison in a nine-way tie for eighth among FBS cor- nerbacks at the conclusion of the regular season. No freshman defensive player had more. All of them came in Novem- ber — he snagged 2 in the 35-14 win over Clemson Nov. 5 and 3 in the 44-0 shut- out of Boston College Nov. 19. Morrison is one of 15 Notre Dame play- ers with a 3-interception game and be- came the first to accomplish that feat since safety Harrison Smith in the 2010 Sun Bowl win over Miami. He has the most interceptions by an Irish defen- sive player since linebacker Manti Te'o grabbed 7 in 2021. Coverage has been Morrison's stron- gest suit. His 40.4 percent catch rate (19 receptions on 47 passes thrown his way) ranked ninth among the 229 FBS corner- backs with at least 300 coverage snaps during the regular season. The 19 catches against him have totaled 277 yards and 1 touchdown. Quarterbacks have a 27.8 passer rating when throwing at him. His 79.7 PFF coverage grade is second on the team, behind only junior cornerback Clarence Lewis. The 6-foot, 179-pound Morrison has played 560 snaps this season, which is fourth among Notre Dame defensive players. He was a contributor from the outset of the season, playing 29 snaps in the opener at Ohio State. He arrived on campus in June, the only one of the Irish's three freshman cornerbacks who did not enroll early. By the end of preseason camp, though, he was a no-doubt contributor. Notre Dame beat out Washington and Alabama for Morrison, who was a four- star prospect from of Phoenix Brophy Prep. Per the 2022 On3 Consensus, he was the No. 36 cornerback and No. 342 overall player nationally. Only five members of Notre Dame's 22-man 2022 signing class had a lower overall ranking than him. — Patrick Engel Morrison had a team-high 5 interceptions during the regular season, including a 96-yard pick-six against Clemson Nov. 5. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER Michael Mayer Is A Consensus All-American Michael Mayer added one last individual honor to his Notre Dame career: Consensus All-American. The NFL Draft-bound junior tight end was named a first-team All-American by Sport- ing News Dec. 13, giving him the three first- team nods from NCAA recognized selectors needed for consensus status. He earned that same designation from the Associated Press and the Walter Camp Football Foun- dation earlier in December. Mayer cannot be a unanimous All-Amer- ican because he was a second-team selec- tion by the Football Writers Association of America. Mayer led all FBS tight ends with 9 touch- down catches during the regular season. His 67 catches were second to Utah's Dal- ton Kincaid (70), and his 809 receiving yards were third behind Kincaid (890) and Syra- cuse's Oronde Gadsden II (897). He is Pro Football Focus' top-graded tight end. Senior defensive end Isaiah Foskey and sophomore offensive tackle Joe Alt were second-team selections by Sporting News. It marks each players' third second-team pick, taking consensus status off the table. The FWAA and AP also put Foskey on their respective second teams, while the WCFF named him a first-teamer. Alt was a first- team selection by the AP, and a second- team pick by the WCFF and FWAA. Alt is PFF's No. 1 offensive tackle, with an overall grade of 91.7. His 90.8 run-blocking grade is also the highest of any FBS tackle this year. He gave up 0 sacks and just 5 pressures in 12 regular-season games. His 85.6 pass-blocking grade is No. 8 among tackles this year. Foskey's 11 sacks are tied for fourth in the FBS during the regular season. He added 33 quarterback pressures and 14 tackles for loss. The latter is tied for 22nd nationally. Mayer and Foskey both declared for the NFL Draft and will not play against No. 19 South Carolina in the Gator Bowl Dec. 30. ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay ranks both among his top 32 prospects for 2023. This season is the third straight in which at least one Notre Dame played was named a consensus All-American. Mayer follows safety Kyle Hamilton (2021) and offensive tackle Liam Eichenberg (2020). The Irish's last unanimous All-American was line- backer Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah in 2020. All told, Mayer is the 106th consensus or unanimous All-American in Notre Dame history. That's the most among FBS teams. — Patrick Engel Benjamin Morrison Rakes In Freshman All-America Accolades