What to make of high praise for Notre Dame freshman S Ben Minich

Who on April 4, 2022, exactly one year ago, thought Benjamin Morrison would be a freshman All-American? Morrison surely thought highly of himself, and the Notre Dame coaching staff recruited and signed him with visions of success, but right away? On a roster with a junior, senior and graduate student already on the depth chart at cornerback?

Tall order. Morrison, the 17th rated recruit in Notre Dame’s class of 2022, was a pleasant surprise for Notre Dame with his team-leading six interceptions, the most any Irish player had had in a single season since Manti Te’o had 7 in 2012.

Every class seems to have a diamond in the rough. In 2021 it was Joe Alt, the Irish’s No. 4 offensive lineman and No. 13 overall recruit that year. He was an All-American last year as a sophomore. Cornerback Clarence Lewis made himself a starter as a freshman in 2020. He was the 15th rated recruit in Notre Dame’s class that year.

Somebody from further down the signee list is going to be a meaningful contributor for Notre Dame in 2023. Why not safety Ben Minich?

“He’s fast, tough and extremely intelligent,” Notre Dame safeties coach Chris O’Leary said. “With those three things, he’s going to be a really good player for us. He has a really good skill set playing the post, breaking on the ball.”

Fellow safety DJ Brown said Minich has the most interceptions (3) of any Irish player in live periods of practice this spring. Brown, a graduate student, is holding down the safety spot with seniors Ramon Henderson and Xavier Watts at the moment. The Irish don’t have an All-American like Kyle Hamilton or Brandon Joseph patrolling the back end this year. Playing time is up for grabs if the elder statesmen don’t seize what’s sitting right there for them.

“All of us together as a strong unit,” Watts said. “We all have different key assets that we bring to the game.”

Minich is an eighth of an inch shy of 6-0 and 190 pounds. He has some growing into his body to do, but he didn’t look small by any means in the fully open to the media practice Notre Dame conducted on April 1. He covered ground from sideline to sideline gracefully and didn’t ever seem to be out of position. He plays a position heavily dependent on being assignment-sound. O’Leary said that element isn’t much of a worry with Minich.

Watts said his strength is aggression. Henderson is the best in coverage among the safeties. Brown is smart. That’s Minich’s magnum opus, too. But he has the fearless athleticism of an early enrollee freshman to pair with it, and that has showed up in the first two weeks of spring practices.

Put simply? Minich is a “baller” in the words of Brown and in the eyes of O’Leary.

“The stuff that we’re doing with the defense right now, the fact that he’s able to comprehend it and do it on the field says a lot about him,” O’Leary said. “He’s a really good football player. I’m excited for his ceiling. We’ll just keep growing him and developing him.”

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