Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 13, 2021 17 'thudding up' — getting your chest on people," Brown said. "That's really the part I worked on. That's 90 percent of tackling, getting your chest on guys. After that, taking them to the ground is easy." Brown had ample opportunity to focus on that 90 percent in practice. Notre Dame cornerbacks coach Mike Mickens starts every practice with a tackling drill for the secondary. Play- ers also hit each other onto mats at full speed. Coaches sometimes put them through a tackling exercise called the "sideline evasion drill." "You tackle nine yards out from the side- line where it's a shorter area and you blow the whistle if they get near the sideline," Kelly said. "You're working on angles." Brown dived headfirst into it all and earned another chance. He regained his nickel package and occasional base defense role against Purdue, one week following the Toledo game. He played 28 snaps and tied for the team lead with seven tackles, including two "stops that constitute a failure for the offense," per PFF. He capped it with his first career in- terception on a tipped pass to seal the win. It was a successful pick-me-up game. Brown has stayed elevated since and earned the first look as Hamilton's replace- ment. He played a career-high 66 snaps versus USC after Hamilton's injury, then surpassed it the next week by playing all 73 defensive snaps against North Carolina. Brown had 15 tackles in 22 career games (321 defensive snaps) from 2018-20. He totaled 12 tackles against the Trojans and Tar Heels alone. Two successful games, according to his personal grading scale. "If I tackle well," Brown said, "I feel like I played well." That's all Notre Dame can ask for without Hamilton because Brown isn't Hamilton. Reminders of that exist, even amid his overall satisfactory play. Ham- ilton likely would have taken a sharper angle and caught North Carolina run- ning back Ty Chandler from behind on a 53-yard touchdown run, for example. At the same time, Brown has been stable enough to help Notre Dame win in Hamilton's absence. The Irish didn't need him to be a star and attempt Hamilton-esque plays. Keep up his play since those wayward first two weeks, and they just might be fine. Brown has so far obliged. He even offered firsthand proof of his heightened open-field confidence on a second- and-three stop versus USC. Trojans star receiver Drake London caught a shovel pass, cut up the field behind a tight end's block and sprinted toward the line to gain. Brown charged up to meet him. Just like that opening game, he squared his chest to the target and went for the hit. This time, London's legs came to the ground with him — a half- yard short of the marker. A few plays later, Brown shed two perimeter blockers to stop a first-and- goal London screen for a two-yard gain. It was transformation on display. "DJ is just feeling more and more con- fident as he builds himself physically stronger," Kelly said, "and playing more football where he can go from speed to balance and make the proper tackle." ✦