Irish add six to complete top- 10 class

Notre Dame finished off a top- 10 recruiting class by filling positions of need.

After signing 21 players in the early period just before Christmas, the Fighting Irish received six more signed letters of intent in areas where the team was thin after player departures at offensive line, running back, wide receiver and defensive back.

In particular, coach Brian Kelly was excited about cornerbacks DJ Brown of Chevy Chase, Maryland; Noah Boykin from Fairfax, Virginia; and wide receiver Lawrence Keys of New Orleans.

“From across- the- board depth standpoint at the back end of our defense and at the wide receiver position,” Kelly said, “it’s as good as any class we’ve recruited at Notre Dame.”

Brown and Boykin were among seven defensive backs in the class where cornerbacks coach Todd Lyght got late help from new safeties coach Terry Joseph, whose hiring became official on Jan. 30.

“DJ [ Brown] is a true corner [ and] we love the intangibles about Noah [ Boykin],” Kelly said. Boykin had decommitted from Maryland, and Brown was at one time a Virginia commitment.

Keys, whom Kelly called “an explosive playmaker,” is the fourth receiver signed in the class that also includes a pair of tight ends. The receiving corps was decimated by injuries and suspensions late in the season and in preparation for the bowl game.

Also sending in signed letters of intent were offensive linemen Jarrett Patterson of California, and Luke Jones of Little Rock, Arkansas.

The four offensive linemen will have some opportunities to get on the field after the losses of AllAmericans Quenton Nelson and Mike McGlinchey, who are expected to be first- round choices in the NFL Draft.