Michigan offers 2023 four-star Brandyn Hillman after being granted release from NLI at Notre Dame

Even though Signing Day for the class of 2023 was at the beginning of February, the Michigan Wolverines may add a top-250 player from one of their rivals.

In an interesting development, Churchland (VA) four-star athlete and Notre Dame signee Brandyn Hillman announced on Sunday night he was released from his National Letter of Intent to the Irish due to “personal reasons.”

Michigan did not wait long to throw its hat in the ring. Just over an hour later, Hillman posted an update that the Wolverines offered.

It also didn’t take long for other schools to start jumping in as well. LSU, Virginia, Vanderbilt, Boston College, Louisville, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin and Cincinnati have all offered Hillman since announcing he is back on the market.

247Sports’ Notre Dame insider Tom Loy did stated he “believes academics played a role here in this decision” for him to leave Notre Dame. Loy further stated there were “some hurdles” to getting him academically admitted, but Notre Dame didn’t push to get him cleared.

Apparently this is a specific academic problem related to Notre Dame, otherwise high academic schools like Michigan, Vanderbilt and Virginia likely would not have offered.

Adding insult to injury, Loy told the Notre Dame board he “believes he lands at Michigan.”

Hillman is ranked as the No. 214 player nationally in the 2023 class. At 6-foot-1, 191 pounds he projects to safety, which would fill a hole in Michigan’s class since it did not take a true safety.

Adding Hillman would bump Michigan’s class up a spot to No. 17 in the country while dropping Notre Dame’s out of the top ten to No. 11 overall.