Notre Dame football star defensive back suffers injury setback

It’s no surprise that as Notre Dame’s spring practice keeps on rolling, there are going to be some players showing up with bumps and bruises. On Monday, the Irish lost wide receiver Deion Colzie to an injury that will keep him out of practice for at least a week.

On Tuesday, the Notre Dame football team announced that Benjamin Morrison had suffered a much more significant injury and needed surgery to fix it. One of the best defensive backs in the country is going to miss the rest of the spring after having arthroscopic surgery to repair damage to his shoulder.

That was the bad news. The good news is that at least for now, Morrison isn’t expected to miss a ton of time past spring practice. The team is saying for now that he’ll be back and totally healthy for the start of the 2024 season.

Notre Dame football loses defensive back for rest of the spring

Even if Morrison’s injury is as minor as the program announced today, it’s never particularly fun to see one of the team’s top players having to miss time. Of course, this is precisely when you want players to have to sit out, should the situation arise.

It's better in the spring and winter than in summer and fall when you want them ramping up for the regular season. Riley Leonard’s ankle surgery is similar to this. Assuming the veteran back is able to be fully active in the summer, it’s even possible that his sitting out the spring could be used as an opportunity for younger players to get more reps.

Christian Gray, Micah Bell and Jaden Mickey were poised to be locked in a battle to start on the opposite side of the field from Morrison, now all three have a chance to be on the field more. 

The key to seeing the positive will be Morrison coming back strong. 

Last year, the defensive back tallied 31 tackles, 10 passes defended and 3 interceptions for a Notre Dame football secondary that was among the best in the country.