Two Notre Dame football players earn preseason All-America honors
It’s never too early for preseason All-America teams, apparently. Two Notre Dame players, one from each side of the ball, earned Walter Camp Football Foundation preseason All-America status this weekend.
Junior offensive tackle Joe Alt was named to the First Team. Sophomore cornerback Benjamin Morrison landed on the Second Team. Alt and Morrison were arguably Notre Dame’s best players on offense and defense, respectively, in 2022. Alt’s Pro Football Focus grade of 91.4 was second to only departed tight end Michael Mayer‘s mark of 92.5. Morrison’s PFF grade of 77.2 paced the Notre Dame defense.
Alt did not allow a single sack last season according to PFF. His pass blocking efficiency, a PFF signature stat measuring pressure allowed on a per-snap basis with weighting toward sacks allowed, of 99.0 led all starting Irish offensive linemen. Alt’s metrics combined with next-level size at 6-8, 315 pounds make him a potential first-round NFL Draft choice in 2024.
Morrison, meanwhile, has at least two years left to play at Notre Dame. He led the Irish with 6 interceptions in 2022. No other Irish player had more than 1. Three of those INTs came in one game against Boston College. Two of them occurred in the Irish’s 35-14 victory over then-No. 4 Clemson. Morrison added the sixth in Notre Dame’s 45-38 Gator Bowl victory over South Carolina.
RELATED: More Notre Dame football:
• Timeline: A chronological look at the open Irish football practice
• Charting every throw from Irish quarterbacks in spring practice No. 6
• Notre Dame football spring practice No. 6 observations: offense
• Notre Dame spring practice No. 6 observations: Defense and special teams
Alt and Morrison will both start again for the Irish in 2023. They are staples for a team that has a new offensive coordinator, offensive line coach and special teams coordinator. The Irish also have a new quarterback in Wake Forest graduate transfer Sam Hartman, who’s currently in an offseason quarterback competition with junior Tyler Buchner.
Notre Dame is six practices into its spring schedule. The Irish got things going on March 22 and are working toward putting a product on display in the annual Blue-Gold Game at Notre Dame Stadium on April 22. The 2023 regular season begins in Dublin, Ireland, against Navy on Aug. 26.
