Notre Dame Star Benjamin Morrison Paved The Way For Standout Cree Thomas

The 2025 cornerback board for Notre Dame is deep, and extremely talented. One of the prominent members on the board is Phoenix (Az.) Brophy College Prep standout Cree Thomas, who has become a priority for the class in a very short amount of time.

If Brophy Prep sounds family, it’s because Notre Dame has had some substantial success recently in the program, specifically in the 2022 recruiting class with sophomore sensation cornerback Benjamin Morrison. Naturally Thomas is going to be compared to Morrison for obvious reasons.

While that may not be fair, Thomas doesn’t shy away from that attention. In fact, Benjamin Morrison sits as a role model for the talented cover man. When the Irish staff offered Thomas back in March, he already had a high opinion of Notre Dame, including watching Morrison go through his own recruiting process.

"I was super excited,” Thomas told Irish Breakdown. "It’s Notre Dame. It’s one of the most storied college football programs in all of college football. Seeing Ben commit there, my freshman year and his senior year, it was just really cool because Ben Morrison is a role model for me.”

Despite only getting to play one season with Morrison, Thomas still holds his guidance in high regard. The Irish star has made a lasting impact.

"I got pretty close with Ben just because we went to the same school and when I got there, he always kind of took me under his wing,” Thomas said. "He was always just a really cool guy to me.”

Of course that meant emulating Morrison on the field, especially playing the same position. Thomas understands that attention wasn’t expected. It just shows the quality of person that Benjamin Morrison is.

"I love Ben, not just because of his play on the field, it’s him off the field as well,” he explained. "He’s just a super great person. He didn’t have to show me the attention he showed me as a freshman.

“He was always open to any questions I had, whether it would be about recruiting or play on the field,” Thomas continued. “I’m just really thankful that he was there when I was there and I got to see how he moved about things so I could try and do the same.”

The comparisons between Thomas and Morrison do not stop at just the same high school, or the position they play. Funny enough, they are both also extremely underrated from a recruiting ranking perspective.

Despite boasting an impressive offer list coming out, Morrison ranked as the No. 342 overall player in the 2022 recruiting class according to the On3 Industry ranking. That is the same spot that Thomas currently sits.

Notre Dame struck gold in Brophy once before. They are hoping to have a repeat victory in 2025 with Thomas.

The Arizona native has quickly attracted the attention of several prominent PAC 12 schools, including holding offers from Oregon, Arizona State, Arizona and Cal. Thomas also holds offers from the Fighting Irish, Wisconsin, Boston College and Purdue among others.

The 6-1, 170-pound cornerback is coming off of a outstanding sophomore campaign for Brophy College Prep. Thomas locked down one of the cornerback positions, finishing the season with 33 total tackles, one interception and six pass breakups. He also added in 1.5 tackles for loss and a half of a sack, while also being the team’s main kick and punt returner.