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INDIANAPOLIS – If it not for his 2024 season-ending injury, Notre Dame CB Benjamin Morrison would likely be among the top five players taken in the 2025 NFL Draft. He had six interceptions as a true freshman in 2022 and nine total over his first two seasons, including a pick-six and 18 total passes defensed.
Unfortunately, Morrison’s path hasn’t been easy, and that weighs on him during a week like this at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine. It’s a week that he’s dreamed about for most of his life since he started playing football at nine years old.
“This is tough. I dreamed of coming to the Combine, things of that nature and I’m here, but now it’s like this is hard. It’s hard on the mind,” Morrison said. “I’m 20 years old. Everything I want is in front of me, and then I just feel like every single time I just have some type of setback. But I know that each setback is just gonna pull me back farther to just catapult me forward. I know that something great is on the horizon.”
He had hip surgery in the middle of the 2024 season but got the green light to resume physical activity earlier this month.
“I got cleared four or five weeks ago by Dr. [Marc] Philippon in Colorado,” Morrison said, “so I’ve been down in Fort Lauderdale training, getting ready for, I’m having a private showcase.”
Philippon is an internationally renowned hip specialist. Morrison said he wanted to go to the best of the best to ensure his future success.
Much like Cooper DeJean and others last season, he won’t participate at the Combine or at his pro day, but he will hold a private showcase at a date to be determined. That gives him time to get back in top condition so he can show out with his testing numbers.
When he’s in top condition and healthy, the strengths of Morrison’s game are apparent. You don’t end up with that much ball production without good footwork, lateral agility, and football IQ.
“I think I’m just a versatile corner. I think I’m a productive corner,” Morrison said. “The NFL is about productivity, and to get the ball. I think if you look at my stats, I was a very productive corner. I’m around the ball and it’s not a coincidence I have those type of numbers. I pride myself on being the teammate I am. Being able to be around my guys in the locker room is a truly special feeling.”
No college player comes out as a finished product, so it’s important that they also know their limitations and where they need to keep working to improve.
“I know I got good feet, but I need to start using them and activating them more,” Morrison said. “You can kind of get lazy and use your hands at the top of the route and grab a place you shouldn’t grab. I understand that I can be classified as a little handsy at corner, but in due time that will be fixed.”
The Pittsburgh Steelers could use a top-notch corner to pair with Joey Porter Jr. and shore up the back half for the long term. It appears they are showing some interest in Morrison, whom many expect to be a first-round pick. He confirmed a formal meeting with the team.
“It was cool,” Morrison said of meeting Mike Tomlin. “I was anticipating some black Air Forces but he didn’t have those on. It was a dream come true. My mom’s from Pittsburgh, so growing up looking at them it was always a dream to meet him one day. That was a surreal moment but also, it’s a job interview so I couldn’t be a fanboy. I gotta show them who I am and also get to know who they are.”
Tomlin famously wore black Air Force 1s and also gifted them to the whole team one year. Those shoes are a symbol for somebody who is aggressive or wild. It’s apparent that Morrison keeps tabs on the Steelers enough to know that bit of team lore in recent years.
Morrison told Chris Simms in a separate interview via NFL on NBC’s YouTube that Minkah Fitzpatrick is one of his idols and he would be happy to play with him if he lands in Pittsburgh.
Despite the challenges of the past year, Morrison is keeping a good perspective.
“I think this all will be a blessing in disguise with this injury and with where I’m at in life right now,” he said. “How are you going to respond? I can’t allow it to defeat me. I gotta come out on top. It just grew the love of the game for myself.”
As long as he continues working hard and shows out well at his private workout, Morrison will likely end up a first-round pick. If not, some team is going to get a heck of a discount on one of the most talented 20-year-old players in the nation.
Check out our full scouting report on Morrison.
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