2023 ATH Brandyn Hillman Explodes With Notre Dame & Other Offers

By Christian McCollum

September 28, 2022

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Brandyn Hillman‍ received so many offers on Wednesday that the 2023 Virginia athlete put his head coach’s phone to the test.

“I couldn't even keep my battery above 50 percent with all of the calls I got about him,” Churchland head coach Dontrell Leonard told Irish Sports Daily.

After landing an offer from Virginia Tech on Tuesday, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Leonard added Boston College, Vanderbilt, Virginia, West Virginia, East Carolina and ultimately Notre Dame on Wednesday.

“His recruiting process was slow because initially he was sticking to his guns and was like, 'Hey, I want to play quarterback,'” Leonard said of Hillman. “He kind of opened up and said he'd play safety. He posted like a minute clip on Twitter two weeks ago and it's just been through the roof for him since then.”

“Notre Dame called me last Thursday,” the coach said. “They came down to the game on Friday and they offered in the following Wednesday.”

Leonard said most schools are recruiting Hillman as a safety, but he is a true athlete.

“The question is what doesn't he do,” the coach said. “He's my starting quarterback, 1,000-yard rush, 1,000-yard passer, compiled over 30 touchdowns in one season last year as a junior.

“He was All-District, All-Region, first ballot kid. He was also our punter, First Team punter and this year he's going to add DB. The kid is electrifying. He has good speed, he has a great Football IQ and his competitive nature is just off the chart.”

It’s early, but Hillman’s interest in the Irish is legit, according to his coach.

“The school and academics, the prestige, the football environment that they have, the national stage that they play on,” Leonard said of what interests Hillman about Notre Dame.

He said Hillman will “most definitely” take a visit to South Bend, possibly as soon as the Stanford game in a couple weeks.

He hasn’t taken any official visits yet, but will likely schedule a few more before making a decision.

“I'm pretty sure he's going to take five and then make his choice,” said Leonard.

Virginia Tech and Virginia are likely to be on the itinerary as well.