This Guy Plays Notre Dame Football: #12 DJ Brown, Safety

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have a roster full of players, and we want to talk about them all. One Foot Down’s player profile series will take a look at every single one of them, and hopefully we all learn a little bit more about these guys, and Notre Dame’s chances for the upcoming 2020 season.

#12 DJ Brown, Safety

DJ comes to us from St. John’s College High School in Annapolis, MD. He is currently a junior academically with three years of eligibility left. He played in nine games last season, but only recorded any tackles in 4 of them. He finished the 2019 season with 7 tackles. He was a backup to Jalen Elliot and Alohi Gilman last season, so his play time was understandably less. With those two juggernauts ahead of him, DJ had a tough time finding a starting role. However, this season he will be at safety with Houston Griffith who played a fair amount last season. DJ will be battling for some more playing time this coming season.

Spirit Animal

Spicy Brown Mustard

Yes, I did think of his spirit animal because of this last name. However, spicy brown is not utilized like yellow mustard is, but it packs a bit of a punch. That is DJ, waiting to pack his punch in the secondary after having to wait to be used.

2020 Outlook

With not many experienced guys ahead of him at safety, DJ Brown can look to get many snaps in the secondary this coming season. He will compete with Houston Griffith, but they could both be used in Clark Lea’s pass protection scheme. DJ got some game exposure last season, but in garbage time or against less-than competition. Hopefully part of that helped him solidify some experience so he could make strong impacts to start. Unfortunately, evaluating his skills in spring ball would’ve been a big help, but we’ll see how he looks in the fall.

Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images