USA TODAY has included four Notre Dame football student-athletes on its 2024 Preseason All-America teams. Graduate defensive lineman Howard Cross III was selected to the first team, while junior cornerback Benjamin Morrison, senior safety Xavier Watts and graduate kick returner Jayden Harrison earned second-team honors.
Watts was a first-team USA TODAY All-American in 2023.
Howard Cross III
Cross piled up 66 stops in 2023, which ranked second among all Power 5 front-four defensive lineman. This 2024 preseason, he has earned selection to watch lists for the Walter Camp Player of the Year, the Outland Trophy and the Nagurski Trophy.
A Bednarik Award semifinalist, Cross III announced his status as a premiere defensive player in the country during the come-from-behind battle at No. 17 Duke on September 30. Leading the Irish with 13 tackles, Cross III also forced two fumbles (including the game-clinching fumble with 0:27 remaining) and claimed national defensive player of the week honors from Walter Camp, the Bednarik Award and the Senior Bowl. Cross III earned Second Team All-America honors from FWAA, Walter Camp, the Associated Press and The Sporting News in 2023.
The Duke game was not the only standout performance by Cross III that season. He piled up seven tackles at No. 25 Louisville, seven more at Clemson and added nine more stops in the home finale against Wake Forest. He piled up 66 stops in 2023, which ranked second among all Power 5 front-four defensive lineman. This 2024 preseason, he has earned selection to watch lists for the Walter Camp Player of the Year, the Outland Trophy and the Nagurski Trophy.
Xavier Watts
A 2023 Unanimous All-American and Nagurski Trophy winner, Watts enters 2024 as one of the preeminent defensive backs in college football. He has already been named to watch lists for the Bednarik Award, the Nagurski Trophy, the Walter Camp Player of the Year and the Paycom Jim Thorpe Award. In 2023, he tied for the national lead with seven interceptions, averaging an interception every other game.
Watts played and started in all 13 games during the season, finishing with 52 tackles, 30 solo, three tackles for loss and 0.5 sack, adding four pass breakups. He forced a fumble and recovered a fumble, returning it for a touchdown. Watts’ seven interceptions led to 33 total Notre Dame points on the subsequent drives.
Off his consecutive two-interception games vs. Pitt and USC, Watts was the first Notre Dame defender to pick off two passes in back-to-back games since at least 1996. He was one of three FBS players to achieve two multi-INT games in 2023, and the only to do so in consecutive games. He earned Nagurski Defensive Player of the Week honors for both of those performances in 2023.
Benjamin Morrison
Also selected to the preseason watch list for the Paycom Jim Thorpe Award and the Bednarik Award, Morrison led the Irish with 10 pass breakups in 2023, recording 31 tackles (25 solo). Morrison also intercepted three passes on the season. He earned Freshman All-America honors in 2022 as one of the late-season breakout stars of college football, picking off two interceptions and returning one 96 yards for a touchdown in Notre Dame’s 35-14 romp over No. 5 Clemson.
In 2022, he claimed a share of the Notre Dame single-game record with three interceptions in a shutout win over Boston College, including two interceptions in the first quarter. Morrison appeared in all 13 games in 2022, starting nine and finishing the year with 33 tackles, 22 solo stops and four pass break ups.
Jayden Harrison
Harrison was a first-team All-American as a kick returner at Marshall last season, finishing second in the country with a 30.7 yards-per-return average. He tied for the FBS lead with two kick return touchdowns in 2023.
Throughout his career Harrison has returned 60 kickoffs for 1,522 yards (25.4 yards per return average) and three touchdowns while catching 71 passes for 779 yards and four scores. In 2023, Harrison played in all 13 games for Marshall (started four), totaling 28 receptions for 410 yards (14.6 yards per reception) and a touchdown.
Harrison was recognized as a finalist for the Jet Award in 2023 and has been named to watch lists for the Jet Award and the Hornung Award in 2024. He was named a Walter Camp, FWAA and CBS Sports/247Sports.com First Team All-American in 2023.