DJ Brown's impact as a veteran in the Irish secondary

Senior safety DJ Brown is the next man in replacing the injured Kyle Hamilton and Brown has made his presence felt by forcing turnovers. As he takes us inside what he saw on his interception against North Carolina.

“Well were in man coverage and I was focused on #11 because they had been throwing those deep shots to him from the slot,” safety DJ Brown said. “I was just trying to make sure he didn’t run that again. Tariq did a good job of forcing him inside to the safety help. And I saw the quarterback looking at him so I jumped it.”

Brown steps into the starting role without skipping a beat, which can be attributed to his experience as a four-year veteran at Notre Dame. And his interception against the Tar Heels shows Brown is a skillful safety.

“That meant a lot. That was the first interception that we had in the game,” defensive lineman Isaiah Foskey said. “It hypes up the entire defense. I’m so excited for him to step up into that role and get a pick.”

“DJ played really well,” head coach Brian Kelly said. “Houston and Pryor working together I thought played well.”

While Brown is playing relatively well, one aspect he feels can be improved going forward is communication when the crowd gets loud whether it be on third down at Notre Dame Stadium or on the road.

“You know it gets loud while we’re out there on third down,” Brown said. “Just overemphasizing communication in practice, I think will really help us a lot.”