Notre Dame CB Benjamin Morrison still has a 2025 NFL Draft decision in front of him, but will he stay or go?

For those who were keeping a close eye on the deadline to declare for the 2025 NFL Draft on Wednesday, some may have noticed that there wasn’t an announcement made from Notre Dame All-American cornerback Benjamin Morrison. The reason for that is that the deadline for the teams participating in the national championship game now has until January 24th to make their intentions known. That is now the hard deadline.

Ever since Morrison was lost for the season due to an hip surgery, many Notre Dame fans have wondered if the star cornerback was going to enter the 2025 class or return for his final season of eligibility next year. There is merit for both decisions. Morrison entered the year considered to be one of the top draft-eligible cornerbacks, but that injury has clouded that evaluation.

Should Morrison go to the NFL or stay for one more year? That’s the question everyone continues to ask themselves.

Morrison has done a tremendous job keeping the attention off of himself. With Notre Dame getting ready for the championship game against the Ohio State Buckeyes, that’s where the attention has stayed. From a personal level, there is obviously a huge decision on the horizon. There is no clear indication which way Morrison will go, but he does seem to be leaning towards declaring.

As it has been reported in the past, there are a lot of concerns around Morrison on the NFL level. Some scouts had concerns about his overall explosiveness and play strength even before he suffered the hip injury. Now that Morrison is dealing with that recovery, as well as a shoulder surgery before the season, it has made his evaluation all the more interesting.

There’s no questioning the impact that Morrison has made while in South Bend, as well as the overall production. In 31 games with the Irish, Morrison has recorded 84 total tackles, nine interceptions, and 18 pass breakups. Morrison has also recorded five tackles for loss in his three seasons. The All-American has been one of the more productive cornerbacks in the nation since he arrived.

Despite constant first round predictions heading into the season, there’s very little chance that Morrison will be selected in the opening round come April. One would argue that returning for an additional year would be most beneficial, hoping for a fully healthy season. Despite that, it appears that Morrison will most likely be declaring for the draft, but we will know for sure in a little over a week.