Tampa Bay Buccaneers Draft Notre Dame Cornerback Benjamin Morrison

Notre Dame cornerback Benjamin Morrison has a new home after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected him with the No. 53 overall pick. Morrison was taken in the second round of the draft. It's the highest a Notre Dame cornerback has been drafted since Tom Carter was taken in the first round back in 1993.

Morrison was an instant star at Notre Dame, earning a key rotation role early in his freshman season and taking over as a starter in the middle of the season. His breakout performance came in Notre Dame's 35-14 win over No. 4 Clemson. An early interception of Cade Klubnik set up a Notre Dame touchdown, and he returned his second interception 96 yards for a touchdown that all but sealed the win. 

Two games later Morrison picked off Boston College quarterbacks three times in the first half of a 44-0 victory over the Eagles. He capped his season with an interception off South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler. Morrison finished that season with 33 tackles, six interceptions and four pass breakups.

Morrison was every bit as dominant as a sophomore in 2023. He intercepted three more passes and broke up 10 more to go with 30 tackles. Morrison played just six games in 2024 before going down with a season-ending hip injury. He finished the shortened season with 20 tackles and four break ups. Despite the injury, Morrison remained a team leader and showed why he was named a team captain as a true junior.

According to Pro Football Focus, Morrison gave up just 59 completions on 129 targets during his career, limiting opponents to a 45.7-percent completion rate. Morrison only allowed four touchdowns in three seasons while picking off opposing quarterbacks nine times, including 2024 No. 1 overall draft pick Caleb Williams.

Morrison also shined in Notre Dame's biggest moments. In two matchups against Ohio State receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. - the No. 4 overall pick of last year's draft - Morrison gave up just two catches to Harrison for 26 yards while being targeted five times (40.0-percent). All three incompletions were break ups. He also held Stanford standout Elic Ayomanor to just one catch in two matchups. Stanford never attempted a pass against Morrison in this year's 49-7 win, which turned out to be the final game of his Notre Dame career.

Morrison's season was cut short by a hip injury in that win over Stanford, which wasn't discovered until after the game. That injury caused him to fall in this year's draft after entering the season with a first round grade according to some analysts.