The 2018 Notre Dame recruiting class had a much-needed addition today when cornerback DJ Brown signed with the Fighting Irish. The 6-1/185 pound athlete out of Washington DC’s St. John’s College was an Under Armour All American this year and is the former teammate of current Notre Dame defensive end Kofi Wardlow.

Recruiting Service Rankings

247 Sports — 3 star (86 rating), #712 overall, #70 CB, #5 in DC

Rivals — 3 star (5.6 rating), NR overall, #67 CB, #8 in DC

ESPN — 4 star (82 rating), #225 overall, #28 CB, #1 in DC

247 Sports Composite — 3 star (.8802), #487 overall, #49 CB, #4 in DC

Cohort

DJ chose the Irish over other offers from Virginia, Cal, Northwestern, Ohio State, Clemson, Stanford, Nebraska, and many others.

Highlights


I really like this late pickup by the Irish staff. He’s not an elite athlete, but he’s more than athletic enough. He’s got some elite instincts, though. He makes really good breaks on the ball and reads the quarterback and the receiver really well. He shows good technique for a player of this stage and can use that to make up for some of his athletic deficiencies. Seems like a very smart player, the type of guy that would make a good addition to any secondary.

Impact

This was a pretty important pickup for the Irish. After not landing a single cornerback in the Class of 2017, it was critical that the Irish land a solid group in 2018. The Irish did just that. This is now the 3rd or 4th cornerback to sign with the Irish in 2018, depending on how you want to look at it (some consider Houston Griffith to be more of a free safety long-term, though he could absolutely play corner as well).

With DJ being more polished than Tariq Bracy and Joe Wilkins, I’d expect him and Griffith to see the field sooner. This probably makes it inevitable for Bracy and Wilkins to redshirt in 2018, which is probably the best thing for both athletes anyway as they are very raw prospects. The opportunity for Brown to see the field in 2018 is definitely there, though. I expect we’ll see him on the field in some capacity this fall.

 

Welcome to the Irish family, DJ!