Listed Measurements: 6-foot-1, 180 pounds
2018-19 year, eligibility: Incoming freshman with four years of eligibility remaining, including the 2018 season.
Depth chart: Brown lands on a depth chart well-stocked at cornerback, with pairs of upperclassmen filling the two-deep at both field and boundary.
Recruiting: A consensus three-star prospect, the Under Armour All-American was committed to Virginia but did not sign during the early signing period, a sure predictor of an eventual de-commitment late in the cycle. He then narrowed his choices to Notre Dame, Cal and Northwestern while also holding offers from Clemson, Ohio State and South Carolina.
QUOTE(S)
After praising Brown’s intangibles (“a great background,” “a strong commitment to the culture here”), Irish head coach Brian Kelly acknowledged Brown could be a future safety thanks to his lanky frame.
“DJ has got the skills to play corner right now, but he’s 6-1, 190, so we know that he’s got the length,” Kelly said. “He’s got the ability to be a bigger, stronger player, as well. We liked his football IQ, we liked the way he played football.
“… Those are things that I think you can’t teach, 6-1, and we wanted some size at that position. He brings it to us.”
WHAT WAS SAID WHEN BROWN’S NATIONAL LETTER OF INTENT ARRIVED
“Brown may be a genuinely prototypical cornerback, at his best in pass coverage and able to locate the ball in the air. By no means does he not need development, but given the stockpile of talent at the position two years ahead of him, Brown should have time to progress and be ready to contribute in a season or two.”
2018 OUTLOOK
Even if Brown is the one freshman cornerback to break through as a defensive reserve in competitive situations, that workload will be minimal, barring injury. It would take a disastrous preseason from junior Donte Vaughn to otherwise vault Brown (or any of the freshmen corners) into a consistent contributing role.
Brown will inevitably see some time on special teams, the question being if it is in only four games and preserves a year of eligibility or if it is season-long. Only time will tell how Notre Dame handles such situations moving forward with the new possibilities presented by this NCAA change.
Familiar with the game and ready to get after it, @DeeJayyy___ is a ball player.
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) February 7, 2018
We can't wait to have him in our backfield!#GoIrish ☘ #IrishBouND18 pic.twitter.com/jEc9MGXQ4J
DOWN THE ROAD
Is it cheating to pull verbatim from February’s “Notre Dame gets the letter”? It is a Sunday in mid-July … Please? Fine, it’s cheating, but only because senior Nick Watkins already transferred elsewhere.
Given the complete void of cornerbacks in the class before this, the position has some rapid turnover coming down the line. Junior Julian Love will have reason to consider the NFL after this season and senior Shaun Crawford will most likely have only one season remaining, something he could use elsewhere if he hears the footsteps of current juniors Troy Pride and Vaughn.
Even if everyone fulfills their Irish eligibility, that will leave two starting spots, a nickelback need and no reserves but for the young foursome in 2020. In that respect, the competition amongst themselves has already begun.
NOTRE DAME 99-to-2:
No. 99 Jerry Tillery, defensive tackle, senior
No. 98 Ja’Mion Franklin, defensive tackle, incoming freshman
No. 97 Micah Dew-Treadway, defensive tackle, senior
No. 95 Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, defensive tackle, sophomore
No. 94 Darnell Ewell, defensive tackle, sophomore
No. 91 Ade Ogundeji, defensive end, junior
No. 89 Brock Wright, tight end, sophomore
No. 88 Javon McKinley, receiver, junior
No. 87 Michael Young, receiver, sophomore
No. 86 Alizé Mack, tight end, senior
No. 85 George Takacs, tight end, early-enrolled freshman
No. 85 Tyler Newsome, punter and captain, fifth-year senior
No. 84 Cole Kmet, tight end, sophomore
No. 83 Chase Claypool, receiver, junior
No. 82 Nic Weishar, tight end, fifth-year senior
No. 81 Miles Boykin, receiver, senior
No. 80 Micah Jones, receiver, early-enrolled freshman
No. 78 Tommy Kraemer, right guard, junior
No. 76 Dillan Gibbons, offensive lineman, sophomore
No. 75 Josh Lugg, offensive lineman, sophomore
No. 74 Liam Eichenberg, starting left tackle, junior
No. 72 Robert Hainsey, right tackle, sophomore
No. 71 Alex Bars, left guard and captain, fifth-year senior
No. 70 Luke Jones, offensive lineman, incoming freshman
No. 69 Aaron Banks, offensive tackle, sophomore
No. 68 Jarrett Patterson, offensive tackle, incoming freshman
No. 60 Cole Mabry, offensive tackle, incoming freshman
No. 57 Trevor Ruhland, offensive lineman, senior
No. 57 (theoretically) Jayson Ademilola, defensive tackle, incoming freshman
No. 56 John Dirksen, offensive lineman, incoming freshman
No. 55 Jonathan Bonner, defensive tackle, fifth-year senior
No. 54 John Shannon, long snapper, junior
No. 53 Khalid Kareem, defensive end, junior
No. 53 Sam Mustipher, center and captain, fifth-year senior
No. 52 Bo Bauer, linebacker, early-enrolled freshman
No. 47 Kofi Wardlow, defensive end, sophomore
No. 45 Jonathan Jones, linebacker, junior
No. 44 Jamir Jones, defensive end, junior
No. 42 Julian Okwara, defensive end, junior
No. 41 Kurt Hinish, defensive tackle, sophomore
No. 40 Drew White, linebacker, sophomore
No. 39 Jonathan Doerer, kickoff specialist, sophomore
No. 34 Jahmir Smith, running back, early-enrolled freshman
No. 33 Shayne Simon, linebacker, incoming freshman
No. 31 Jack Lamb, linebacker, early-enrolled freshman
No. 30 Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, linebacker, sophomore
No. 29 Ovie Oghoufo, linebacker, early-enrolled freshman
No. 28 Nicco Fertitta, safety, senior
No. 27 Julian Love, cornerback, junior, second-team All-American
No. 25 Braden Lenzy, receiver, incoming freshman
No. 24 Tommy Tremble, tight end, incoming freshman
No. 24 Nick Coleman, defensive back, senior
No. 23 Drue Tranquill, linebacker, two-time captain, fifth-year senior
No. 22 Asmar Bilal, rover, senior
No. 21 Jalen Elliott, safety, junior
No. 20 Shaun Crawford, nickelback, senior
No. 20 C’Bo Flemister, running back, incoming freshman
No. 19 Justin Yoon, placekicker, senior
No. 19 Justin Ademilola, defensive end, incoming freshman
No. 18 Joe Wilkins, cornerback, incoming freshman
No. 17 Isaiah Robertson, safety-turned-rover, sophomore
No. 16 Noah Boykin, cornerback, incoming freshman
No. 15 D.J. Morgan, safety-turned-linebacker, junior
No. 15 Phil Jurkovec, quarterback, consensus four-star incoming freshman
No. 14 Devin Studstill, safety, junior
No. 13 Lawrence Keys, receiver, incoming freshman
No. 13 Paul Moala, local safety, incoming freshman
MEDICAL EXEMPTION
No. 35 David Adams, linebacker, sophomore
OUTGOING TRANSFER
No. 11 Freddy Canteen, receiver, outgoing transfer
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