Brandyn Hillman has a decision date.
The 2023 three-star athlete announced Sunday that he will make his college commitment on Dec 7 — his mother’s birthday. Hillman’s announcement comes two weeks after making an official visit to Notre Dame and after visiting North Carolina this past Saturday.
The Portsmouth (Va.) Churchland High product will seemingly choose between eight schools. Also, on Saturday, Hillman released a top schools list that included Notre Dame, Kentucky, Miami (Fla.), North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Virginia and Virginia Tech.
Hillman is a late arrival to the recruiting process and a new name to most schools involved.
After only reporting an offer from Norfolk State heading into his senior season, the 6-foot-1, 200-pound Hillman received nine offers from Sept. 27-29.
During the offer spree, Notre Dame was the most notable school on a list that included Virginia Tech, Boston College, Vanderbilt, Virginia, West Virginia, East Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky. Hillman scheduled an official visit for the ND- Stanford game on Oct. 15 two days after the Irish offered.
Hillman had previously visited Virginia Tech, Old Dominion and North Carolina on unofficial visits. Saturday was his second unofficial visit to North Carolina.
But Notre Dame and North Carolina aren’t the only two schools he hoped to see this season.
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In addition to the Irish and Tar Heels, Hillman was also considering official visits to Oklahoma, Kentucky and Tennessee. On Oct. 24, Miami (Fla.) made his recruitment more competitive with a scholarship offer.
Hillman projects as an offensive mulit-position athlete in college. Notre Dame likes his ability to play running back, wide receiver and wildcat quarterback. He also excels at safety, which would provide the Irish with an intriguing secondary option if necessary.
Most Power 5 schools have offered Hillman as a defensive back.
After adding only three running backs/wide receivers in the 2022 class, the Irish have the chance to more than double that total in the 2023 class. Hillman could join an array of talent, including running backs Jeremiyah Love, Dylan Edwards and Jayden Limar and wide receivers Rico Flores Jr., Jaden Greathouse and Braylon James.
The Irish 2023 class totals 23 commits and ranks second in the Rivals team rankings. Before the October commitment of Love, the last Notre Dame commitment was Armel Mukam, a three-star defensive lineman from Woodberry Forest, Va., on Aug. 24.
If Hillman and Mukam sign with the Irish on Dec. 21, it will mark the first time two players from Virginia have joined the Irish roster in a single cycle since quarterback Brendon Clark and safety Litchfield Ajavon in 2019. Since then, Notre Dame has added Chris Tyree (2020) and Aiden Gobaira (2022) from Virginia.
Other outstanding players from Virginia to sign with the Irish in recent years include NFL Draft picks Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and CJ Prosise. Safety Jalen Elliott, who spent two seasons with the Lions, also hails from the state.
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