Heading into the 2024 season at Notre Dame, the 20-year-old Benjamin Morrison could see his immediate future laid out in front of him. After two very strong college campaigns in 2022 and 2023, which included nine interceptions and 23 passes defensed, Morrison was considered one of the top cornerbacks in college football. He could build on that in 2024, then declare for the NFL Draft and realistically expect to hear his name called during the first round.

That wasn’t exactly how things played out, though. A hip injury required surgery after just six games and no more interceptions last fall, and as a result, his draft stock dipped somewhat. He was eventually drafted in the second round by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with the 53rd overall pick. That was a lot for a very young man to handle, and there were tough times during his rehab that challenged him mentally. But he leaned on his faith and the support of his parents and when he arrived at the AdventHealth Training Center this week to take part in the Buccaneers’ rookie minicamp, he felt like he was where he was supposed to be.

“Going into the year, understanding I was one of the top corners, and then you get injured and you feel like you’re forgotten about,” said Morrison after the first practice of minicamp on Friday. “There are so many things behind closed doors that people don’t know I had to go through last year, just with the uncertainty of my hip, the Combine process, all that stuff. It honestly felt like a lot of people gave up on me, and I’m still a kid at the end of the day. I’m still growing up. I still had growing pains, so it was tough. But at the end of the day, God doesn’t make mistakes [and] you’ll end up at the right spot. It kind of validated it so that when I walked through the doors, this was the place I was supposed to be at.

“My mom was like, “‘You’re on a mission. God sent you here for a reason. Go attack it.'”

Morrison’s father, Darryl was as supportive as his mother Jo Ann. The elder Morrison played four seasons in the NFL in Washington and knew that injuries are something many players have to overcome. Morrison had surgery on his other hip in high school, something he had been advised was inevitable because of a bilateral condition that was detected in his childhood. The second surgery last year was obviously ill-timed and caused a blip in his original NFL plans.

“My faith has really catapulted me through all of this,” said Morrison. “It was really tested. You can say you’re a Christian, you can say you’re all that until your face is face-planted in the ground. All the people that were once cheering for you are criticizing you, giving you names, but at the end of the day it’s football. My dad always says, ‘Injuries are part of the game but they’re never planned. He’s always been that kind of rock in my foundation growing up. He’s everything to me. He’s played football, but at the end of the day he’s my dad first. Just having me in my corner means the world to me.”

The mission that Jo Ann Morrison sent her son on got off to a good start on Friday. The Bucs were confident that Benjamin would be full-go by the start of training camp in late July but were always going to proceed with caution until then. Morrison wasn’t necessarily expected to take part in this weekend’s minicamp, but he was out there on the field Friday, going through the majority of the drills before working on the side during full-team periods. He seems to be a bit ahead of schedule.

“It was very good to see him move around,” said Head Coach Todd Bowles. “I think he’s okay. I just think he has to get in shape now so we have to monitor where he is as far as what kind of program he needs but I think he’ll be fine. We’re really looking forward to having him at training camp but if he can come out and do some things in OTAs, that would be a big bonus.”

Morrison surely had dreams of finishing out his Notre Dame career in grand style and getting a phone call from an NFL team on the first night of the draft. That’s not exactly how things played out, but now he’s in a position to chase even bigger dreams.

“You can set those plans, but God has his own for you,” said Morrison. “For me, that really shaped this year just because I had the plans, I had goals that I aspired to achieve but I didn’t get those. But that doesn’t mean I’m a failure. That doesn’t mean I can’t still achieve those. So for me it’s just like, you try to go for it all but if not then you settle, but then it’s the next one ahead.”