To replace their losses, Notre Dame welcomed the addition of four new assistant coaches. Mike Sanford Jr. former Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks coach at Boise State accepted the same position on the coaching staff. Todd Lyght, a former All-American at Notre Dame and Cornerbacks coach at Vanderbilt, accepted the same position on the coaching staff. Keith Gilmore, previously the Defensive line coach at North Carolina, accepted the same position on the coaching staff. Autry Denson, Notre Dame's all-time leading rusher and Running Backs coach at the University of South Florida, accepted the same position on the coaching staff. Brian Kelly received 24 commitments in his fifth full recruiting class including one five-star, Aliz'e Jones. The class included student-athletes from 13 different states. The 2015 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team was featured in the miniseries, "A Season With Notre Dame Football" on Showtime, which premiered on Tuesday September 8, 2015. It followed Fighting Irish football players and coaches at University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. Each episode reviews highlights of every football game played during the current season of Notre Dame football. The series was narrated by actor and Fighting Irish fan Barry Pepper. The tagline was "It's more than just a game." Notre Dame would start the year out strong by beating the Texas Longhorns by a score of 38–3. Notre Dame quarterback Malik Zaire finished the game 19 for 22 for 313 yards and three touchdown passes. The Irish offense outgained Texas 527 to 163 and had 30 first downs compared to the Longhorns who had 8. While leading 26–14 midway through the third quarter, the Irish would lose their starting Quarterback Malik Zaire to a broken ankle. Virginia would take advantage, scoring two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to take the lead 27–26 with 1:54 left in the game. Irish backup quarterback DeShone Kizer would then lead Notre Dame on a game-winning drive. Kizer would convert a 4th and 2 with a four-yard run and then three plays later hit William Fuller with a 39-yard touchdown pass with :12 left in the game to seal the win for the Irish. It was reported after the game that Zaire would be out for the remainder of the season. Despite being ranked higher than Georgia Tech in both the AP and Coach's Polls, Notre Dame would come into the game as underdogs, due to the injury to starting QB Malik Zaire. 19 year old quarterback DeShone Kizer would make his first career start.