SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Benjamin Morrison doesn’t need a scouting report on South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler.
Notre Dame’s star freshman cornerback has known about Rattler for years from their days growing up in Phoenix. As Morrison embarked on his high school football career as a freshman at Brophy High in 2018, Rattler was wrapping up his high school career at Pinnacle High.
Rattler wasn’t just a local star quarterback, but a national one too. He was a five-star recruit, All-American Bowl selection and Elite 11 MVP. Rivals ranked him as the No. 1 quarterback and No. 13 overall in the 2019 class.
“He was huge,” Morrison recalled. “He was the best quarterback in the nation. The things he did were just unreal. Throwing off his back foot like 60 yards. He’s a generational talent.
“Going against him, you have to understand that. So you have to be on your Ps and Qs, because if not, then he can expose you.”
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Morrison and Rattler have worked out together at the same training facility, Elite U, in Scottsdale, Ariz., but they’ve never played against each other on the football field. That should change Dec. 30 when No. 21 Notre Dame (8-4) and No. 19 South Carolina (8-4) meet in the Gator Bowl.
Rattler’s college career hasn’t exactly gone as planned. A breakout redshirt freshman season at Oklahoma was followed by redshirt sophomore season that ended with him being benched. That led to his transfer to South Carolina, where he both struggled and showed flashes of brilliance this season.
In an offense that failed to run the ball with any consistent success, the Gamecocks relied heavily on Rattler. His poor performances in losses to Georgia, Missouri and Florida were too much for South Carolina to overcome. But he also played a huge role in surprise victories over then-No. 5 Tennessee and then-No. 9 Clemson to end the regular season.
In the last two wins, Rattler completed 72.4% of his passes (55-of-76) for 798 yards and eight touchdowns with two interceptions.
“He’s a confident player,” Morrison said. “You see that through how he plays. When he was struggling a little bit, it never got him down. Because you see where he’s at right now.
“He’s a confident player to say the least. It’s just a testament to who he is as a person that he’s willing to go through all the adversity. Where he’s at now is a testament to him never giving up.”
Success came pretty quickly for Morrison at Notre Dame even though he wasn’t hailed as the same kind of prospect as Rattler coming out of high school. Rivals rated him as a four-star prospect and ranked him as the No. 30 cornerback in 2022 class, which was higher than any of the other major recruiting networks.
Morrison ended the regular season with multiple Freshman All-America nods.
“It was a great feeling, just because hard work pays off,” Morrison said. “But ultimately, that’s not what I want. I have goals for myself higher and higher. It’s a blessing, but I can’t just ride that.”
Pro Football Focus has assigned opposing quarterbacks an NFL QB rating of 27.8 when targeting receivers Morrison covered this season, which is a worse rating than if all 47 passes thrown Morrison’s way landed incomplete and not in his hands. His five interceptions, which came in two games against Clemson and Boston College, caused the rating to dip below the minimum rating for a quarterback who doesn’t throw an interception.
Morrison hasn’t yet felt like opposing quarterbacks have gone out of their way to avoid him.
“I feel like they attacked me even more as the year went on,” Morrison said. “This whole year was just a roller coaster. Some games that you don’t get the ball thrown at you. Some games you get the ball thrown at you a lot. It’s just been a fun experience to be out there and being able to compete and play for this school.”
Maybe Rattler will know better about his fellow Phoenix product. Just don’t expect Morrison to change how he plays.
“(Cornerbacks) coach (Mike) Mickens says every rep should be a rep that you think they’re coming at you,” Morrison said. “So everything should be 100% every single time. Even if they don’t throw at me, my technique, my preparation pre-snap has to be as if they’re coming at me every play. So that’s my mindset going into it.”
Notre Dame’s cornerback depth will continue to be tested without starter Cam Hart in the lineup. His shoulder injury against Boston College ended his senior season, but didn’t mark the end of his Notre Dame career. Prior to the USC game, Hart told his fellow cornerbacks he planned to return next season.
Hart shared the news publicly three days after the 38-27 loss at USC. The news brought Morrison joy.
“I don’t think people understand the relationship me and Cam have been able to build,” Morrison said. “Coming in he was a little harder on me, because I think he saw my potential. He was really hard on me.
“As the year went, he was more so taking me under like a little brother. I look up to him. He doesn’t understand the influence he has on me, the impact he has on me. No one will understand. I’m really grateful for him. I’m happy I get to spend another year with him.”
Next season, the Irish will get another shot at beating USC quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams. The Irish will likely have to defend Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik, a former five-star recruit who Morrison intercepted on his lone pass attempt in ND’s 35-14 victory on Nov. 5.
Facing high-profile quarterbacks, like North Carolina’s Drake Maye and Ohio State’s CJ Stroud, has become a common occurrence in Morrison’s young career.
“It’s been awesome, because you can test where at,” Morrison said. “So when you go against guys like that, those are the games I live for. You can see they obviously already made a name for themselves. I’m trying to make a name for myself as each game goes by.
“Being able to see what they do, you can understand why they get the recognition that they get. The things they do, you have to respect. I just love competing. So if they’re the best, I want to go against them.”
Rattler might be a notch or two below the best quarterbacks Morrison has faced this season, but he still recognizes the challenge ahead of him and his teammates. He’ll have Hart helping coach him up in the next couple weeks before the matchup at TIAA Bank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. (3:30 p.m. EST on ABC).
Following a week of final exams and Friday night’s awards banquet for the team, the focus has completely shifted to the Gator Bowl and South Carolina.
“They’re a good team,” Morrison said. “They have a great quarterback, great receivers. We have to respect every single opponent we go against.
“The proper studies have to be taking place in order to compete with a team like this. If we lack in any areas, we’ll be exposed. Because a good team can expose our weaknesses. It’s going to be a good test. We’re going to have to prepare to their level. It will be fun.”
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