2024 Season Countdown: #49 Brandyn Hillman
Name: Brandyn Hillman
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 200 lbs.
High school: Portsmouth (VA) Churchland
Position: Safety
Class: Sophomore
Jersey number: #6
Last year: I ranked Hillman #93 and said he would be a backup safety and special teamer (LINK). He played in nine games and made 2 tackles.
TTB Rating: 83
Hillman was a standout runner and passer as a quarterback in high school, and he even played defense. I really like former quarterbacks who move over to play defense, so I thought he might have a leg up on some of the other freshman defensive backs trying to get into the rotation. And despite the depth at safety, Hillman was still able to slide onto the field as a true freshman, which is a pretty impressive feat. After all, he was behind Rod Moore, Makari Paige, Keon Sabb, and Quinten Johnson, but the coaches still wanted to give him playing time. He made just two tackles and didn’t play from the Ohio State game onward, but that’s not a bad freshman year.
This year the coaching staff has been bringing up Hillman’s name in press conferences, so the new defensive staff sees some of the same things the old one did. Hillman has good size and speed, he’s aggressive, and he brings the processing that’s necessary for high school quarterbacks. It seems like only a matter of time until he turns into a decent college player. This fall Michigan has him getting reps at the nickel spot. He’s unlikely to start – Zeke Berry seems to have that position locked down – but it seems to be Hillman and Ja’Den McBurrows fighting for the #2 spot there. Even if Hillman loses that slot to McBurrows, he can still play on special teams and offer depth at safety if necessary. And once Paige, Johnson, Moore, and Wesley Walker are gone after 2024, Hillman will have a chance to stake his claim for a safety or nickel spot.
Prediction: Backup nickel
