Since late September, the Notre Dame coaching staff has left Brandyn Hillman's phone buzzing daily in hopes of hearing one message from the Portsmouth (Va.) Churchland High senior. And after an expedited recruitment, the 6-foot-1, 200-pound three-star athlete finally delivered it.
He’s committed to the Irish.
On Wednesday, Hillman made his Notre Dame commitment public with an announcement at Churchland High School to celebrate his mother’s birthday. He chose the Irish over Kentucky, North Carolina, Southern California, Virginia Tech and 10 other schools to offer him a scholarship.
The first of those schools was Norfolk State on June 1, until a flurry of scholarship offers fell into his lap in late September. While Howard University offered Sept. 24, the spree came from Sept. 27-29. During it, nine schools offered scholarships, including the Irish.
From that moment on, head coach Marcus Freeman, offensive coordinator Tommy Rees and defensive coordinator Al Golden put the full-court press on Hillman, which led to Wednesday’s result.
“I pretty much get a call from these guys every day,” Hillman told Inside ND Sports. “They call every day just like my family, so I respect them as a family. … I was a big person on family, being that I’m gonna be away from home. I wanted to feel like I was gonna be somewhere home.
“Notre Dame really applied the pressure and let me know this is home. I felt it and committed.”
Similarly to the coaching staff’s recruiting tactics, they remained constant in their vision for his future. Notre Dame sees Hillman as a true athlete who can play running back, wide receiver, wildcat quarterback, safety or cornerback.
During his recruitment, schools recruited him differently. Kentucky, North Carolina and Southern California recruited him as a defensive back. Meanwhile, Virginia Tech targeted him as a quarterback.
Although the Hokies presented the opportunity for Hillman to play a position unlike any other program, their delayed approach to his recruitment limited his interest in investing his future with the in-state school. As a high school senior, Hillman threw for 1,312 yards and 11 touchdowns and rushed for 1,236 yards and 22 touchdowns.
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He received seven postseason awards for his senior year performance. Among them were first-team all-region quarterback, second-team all-region defensive back and Class 4, Region A offensive player of the year. Those accolades are another factor why he is not concerned that the Irish coaching staff is undecided about the position he begins playing when he arrives in South Bend in June.
“I feel like that I’m a baller,” he said. “Growing up, I played both sides of the ball. So, I understand both sides of the ball. My family would say defense is my money maker. But I know if I touch the ball, I’m gonna score. So, it really doesn’t matter.”
The Irish first welcomed Hillman and his family to campus the weekend of Oct. 15 for the Stanford game. It was his first official visit and first trip as a target for any of the schools involved in his recruitment. Hillman also visited North Carolina (twice), Kentucky (official visit) and Virginia Tech (twice) during the season.
But after his trip to South Bend, he kept comparing all the other schools to Notre Dame.
“Everybody on campus was friendly, glad to meet me,” he said. “I met people from all around the world. I’m not the only person that is away from their home that’s going through the same thing. The fact that I can relate to other players on the team, and I can have somebody to talk to if I need to. I don’t have to stay to myself. That played a big part.”
Hillman isn’t the only high school football player in Virginia intending to sign with the Irish. Defensive lineman Armel Mukam, originally from Canada, played at Woodberry Forest (Va.) School. Previously, ND has signed 14 players during the Rivals era (since 2002) from the state. Among them are current players defensive end Aiden Gobaira and running back Chris Tyree.
After adding only three offensive playmakers in 2022, the Irish have more than doubled that total in the 2023 cycle. Hillman joins an array of talent, including running backs Jeremiyah Love, Dylan Edwards and Jayden Limar and wide receivers Rico Flores Jr., Jaden Greathouse, Braylon James and Kaleb Smith.
The Notre Dame 2023 class has 27 total commits and ranks No. 3 in the Rivals team rankings.
Later Wednesday, Golden will be in Portsmouth, Va., to visit Hillman. Except they weren’t there during his announcement. Instead, Golden and O’Leary will show up afterward, providing the perfect opportunity to turn the page to the next chapter of Hillman’s football career.
“Notre Dame is Notre Dame,” Hillman said. “You don’t come across the opportunity to go to a school like Notre Dame every day. So, when you do, you got to take that chance.”
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