Notre Dame safety and Annapolis native DJ Brown says it “means the world” to return to South Bend for a sixth season, but his final college campaign won’t begin at Notre Dame Stadium.
Instead, it will begin in Dublin, Ireland, against Navy. The Irish and Midshipmen were slated to play in Dublin in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancelation of the game. However, Brown remembers watching Notre Dame defeat Navy, 50-10, in Dublin in 2012 on TV and he has wanted to play in Ireland since then. Now he gets that opportunity, and his family and friends are making a European vacation out of it.
Still, it’s all business for Brown ahead of the Aug. 26 opener against Navy. Well, mostly business.
“We have a mature team that’s used to traveling. Even last year, we played in Vegas for a game. I wouldn’t say we’re worried,” Brown said on Glenn Clark Radio Aug. 23. “Also, the team has some events for us to do where we kind of learn about the Irish culture, so that’s exciting as well. I would say we have a mature team, so I’m not really worried about the distraction. At the end of the day, it’s another football game, but it’s still a blessing to play in Dublin, Ireland.”
Brown is part of a team that enters the 2023 season with high expectations following a 9-4 season. The 6-foot-1, 202-pound safety has played in 47 games, starting 12, throughout his five-year career. Ten starts came in 2022, when he totaled 48 tackles and two passes defensed. For his career, he has been credited with 105 tackles, eight passes defensed and three interceptions.
Brown was recruited by Notre Dame as a consensus three-star cornerback out of St. John’s College High School in Washington, D.C., but moved to safety in 2019. His playing time and production have gradually ticked up throughout his career, and he announced in January that he was coming back for a sixth year via the pandemic waiver.
Brown is expected to share time at safety with Xavier Watts and Ramon Henderson.
“I would say it means the world,” Brown said of his return. “I haven’t taken any second for granted since I’ve been here at Notre Dame, but I would say just being back here again, you realize how special this place is, so really not taking it for granted and attacking every day like it’s my last. I always go by the saying, ‘How you attack one thing is how you attack everything.’ If I attack every day, every practice with my best effort, things will work out for me. So I’m honestly just embracing it. It’s my last time in this locker room with these guys playing in Notre Dame Stadium.”
Brown will also share a defensive backfield with fifth-year cornerback Cam Hart, a Baltimore native and Good Counsel graduate. Hart has established himself as a reliable cornerback the past two seasons, having started 20 games and registered 67 tackles, 13 passes defensed and two interceptions from 2021-2022.
Brown and Hart played against each other in high school in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference, so they got to know each other prior to going to Notre Dame.
“Coming to college, I hosted him for his visit, showed him around, kind of showed him what Notre Dame was like,” Brown said. “I would say ever since then we’ve gotten close. He’s my roommate right now as well, so me and Cam are real close. It’s pretty cool, two kids from Maryland playing in the secondary at Notre Dame. It’s awesome.”
Notre Dame carries high expectations this year in large part because the Irish landed one of the biggest prizes on the transfer market this offseason in sixth-year quarterback Sam Hartman, who threw for 7,929 yards and 77 touchdowns for Wake Forest from 2021-2022. He’ll be able to hand the ball off to running back Audric Estime and throw to receiver Jayden Thomas, both of whom return after productive seasons a year ago.
Second-year head coach Marcus Freeman has brought a little different mindset to South Bend this year, according to Brown. Mostly, take care of the task at hand first and foremost.
“His main thing is Point No. 1, win every day but also for us to reach our full potential,” Brown said. “He says if we reach our full potential, a national championship will come, but talking about winning a national championship all the time, I would say for the team it might boost expectations a little bit more than it has to. So I would say winning each day at a time and becoming our best team we can be has been the main focus this offseason.”
For more from Brown, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox