Entering National Signing Day, Notre Dame still needed to bolster its secondary, and after the first half of Wednesday, it seems the Fighting Irish can now check that box.

A pair of D.C.-area cornerbacks, Noah Boykin (H.D. Woodson High School) and DJ Brown (St. John's College High School) are headed for South Bend, IN, helping Notre Dame to a late surge up the recruiting rankings, where the Irish now check in at No. 7 on Rivals and No. 9 on 247Sports.

 @Guap2x is officially Irish!

Hailing from our nation’s capital, the Irish bring an impressive playmaker with talent, confidence and physicality @CoachLyghtND can’t wait to mold.#GoIrish  #IrishBouND18 pic.twitter.com/VqFkIpQpYI

— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) February 7, 2018

Notre Dame's courtship of Boykin was a bit of a soap opera. Boykin wavered in his initial decommitment from Maryland and then flirted with Florida, before ultimately choosing the Irish after all. 

Brian Kelly now has five cornerbacks in a 2018 class that figures to be a consensus top 10 group.

Here’s a look at some other notable signees from the early morning hours:

ACC:

4-star ATH Mario Goodrich — Clemson

4-star ATH Marquez Ezzard — Miami

4-star DT Nesta Silvera — Miami

4-star DE Malcolm Lamar — Florida State

4-star ATH Tre'Shaun Harrison — Florida State

4-star S Marlon Character — Louisville

4-star OT William Barnes — North Carolina

4-star RB Mychale Salahuddin — Pittsburgh

4-star LB Dax Hollifield — Virginia Tech

3-star RB Anthony Grant — Florida State

Big 12:

4-star DE Joseph Ossai — Texas

Independent:

4-star OL Jarrett Patterson — Notre Dame

4-star CB Noah Boykin — Notre Dame

4-star WR Lawrence Keys III — Notre Dame

3-star CB DJ Brown — Notre Dame

SEC:

5-star CB Patrick Surtain Jr. — Alabama

5-star CB Tyson Campbell — Georgia

4-star DL Bobby Brown — Texas A&M

4-star DE Christopher Oats — Kentucky

4-star WR Matthew Hill — Auburn

4-star DE Andrew Chatfield — Florida

4-star WR Tommy Bush — Georgia

4-star LB Otis Reese — Georgia

4-star LB Quay Walker — Georgia

4-star QB James Foster — Texas A&M

4-star OG Tank Jenkins — Texas A&M

3-star CB Eddie Smith — Alabama

Big Ten:

5-star OT Nick Petit-Frere — Ohio State

4-star LB Javontae Jean-Baptiste — Ohio State

4-star DE Caleb Tannor — Nebraska

4-star DL Tyler Friday — Ohio State

4-star CB Ken Montgomery — Maryland

Pac-12:

4-star QB Tanner McKee — Stanford

4-star DT Tuli Letuligasenoa — Washington