Benjamin Morrison Predicting Big Things for Freshman Notre Dame CB

Two years ago, Benjamin Morrison enrolled at Notre Dame in the summer and ended up having a monster freshman season with six interceptions. Morrison is an All-American and defensive leader for the Fighting Irish two years later. He also predicts big things for current freshman corner Leonard Moore, who just enrolled over the summer.

"This might be a stretch, but Leonard Moore will be better than I will be here. He's a special kid." — Benjamin Morrison

High praise for a true freshman from a projected top-15 draft pick. pic.twitter.com/7LlFX0CVGK

— Jack Soble (@jacksoble56) August 15, 2024

Moore did not enroll early at Notre Dame; instead, he opted to complete his senior year of high school and enroll in the summer. That has typically limited a freshman’s opportunity to crack the depth chart, but much like Morrison two years ago, it does not seem to have slowed Moore at all. After just two weeks of practice, the rookie corner already appears to have a spot penciled into the Notre Dame two-deep.

Morrison hasn’t been the only one to rave about Moore over the first couple of weeks of practice, though. The Notre Dame receivers that Moore has lined up against have taken notice as well, noting that while Moore is still raw and learning, he is going to be a very good corner for the Fighting Irish for the next few years.

As of now, it seems like Moore has a lockdown on the backup boundary corner position behind Morrison, who himself wasn’t expected to be an instant impact freshman before he exploded in 2021.

Mike Mickens knows cornerbacks

When Notre Dame first targeted Moore, he was not a very heralded prospect. Three or four services ranked him as a three-star recruit – only Rivals had him as a four-star recruit. One person who was much higher in his evaluation was Notre Dame cornerbacks coach Mike Mickens, who had Moore near the top of his board. It’s early, but it looks like Mickens was right. Again.

Since arriving at Notre Dame, Mickens has not only transformed Notre Dame’s cornerback recruiting but also made the position one of strength after years of struggling. He’s done it without landing any 5-star recruits, either.

Cam Hart was a converted wide receiver who Mickens developed into an NFL Draft pick. Morrison was a 4-star recruit but on the lower end. Rivals ranked him as the #30 corner, while 247 had him as just the 37th-best corner. It’s safe to say there were not 29 better corners than Benjamin Morrison in that recruiting class.

It looks like Mickens may have struck again with Moore, who has been making waves in camp since the first couple of days. Fellow freshman Karson Hobbs, another unheralded recruit, has reportedly also been impressive in camp for a true freshman, just not quite at the same level as Moore.

Freshmen making moves has been a theme in camp, with true freshman Anthonie Knapp surging and looking like he could start at left tackle this season following Charles Jagusah’s injury.