Notre Dame football snags speedster Brandyn Hillman

Notre Dame football continues adding to their 2023 class two weeks from early signing day. 2023 athlete Brandyn Hillman out of Virginia announced his commitment to Notre Dame on Wednesday afternoon. Hillman came on late for many programs, including the Irish, who offered him in late September. Shortly after, the staff started pushing hard to land him, and he made his way to campus for a visit in October. Since then, Notre Dame has been the favorite, even with new big-time offers coming in. He officially decided Notre Dame is where he wants to be on Wednesday afternoon. — Hillman holds 15 offers from Southern Cal, Oklahoma, Miami, Kentucky, and many more.

What will Hillman bring to South Bend?

The 6’1, 190-pound athlete is going to bring just that, athleticism. But what has the majority of people excited here is his speed. He’s extremely shifty and quick and should thrive in the secondary. To add, he had the highest testing score (110.64) at the elite 11 Washington region, which is extremely impressive for an under-the-radar guy. His explosiveness is eye-opening, and he can make waves as a rover-type player in the Notre Dame defense. Think Owusu-Koromah explosiveness; that’s similar to what could be with Hillman. He has a solid change of direction that will be beneficial if he’s not playing as close to the line of scrimmage. Adding muscle and maintaining that quickness and speed will be critical for Hillman, and we should be very intrigued to follow him over the next year or so on that development.

With Hillman committing, the Notre Dame football class holds 27 pledges, with 13 now on defense and 14 on the offensive side. Hillman is a wildcard position-wise but is someone I’d expect in the secondary. If that’s the case, he will join Peyton Bowen, Christian Gray, Micah Bell, Adon Shuler, and Ben Minich in the defensive back room. The staff has put together an outstanding class with two weeks until early signing day starts.