Portsmouth (Va.) Churchland four-star safety Brandyn Hillman (6-1, 191) was released from his letter of intent at Notre Dame on Sunday, and it didn’t take long for Ohio State to get involved.
The Buckeyes sent out an offer to Hillman on Monday, indicating that Ohio State and head coach Ryan Day may not be done filling out the 2023 recruiting class. Hillman is the No. 214 overall prospect in the class and had been committed to Notre Dame since October.
“Due to personal reasons, I have asked for and been granted my release from my NIL with the University of Notre Dame. I would like to thank Coach (Marcus) Freeman and the Notre Dame staff for their interest,” Hillman said in a statement. “I ask you to respect my privacy and my family’s privacy as I explore my options on where to attend school this fall.”
Since being released from Notre Dame, Hillman has also picked up offers from the likes of LSU, Michigan and Wisconsin, among others. Prior to his commitment to Notre Dame, Hillman had released a list of top eight schools that included Kentucky, Miami (Fla.), North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Virginia and Virginia Tech in addition to the Fighting Irish.
A two-way player at Chuchland, Hillman picked up 41 tackles – four for loss – along with three sacks and four pass breakups on defense while adding 1,054 passing yards and 1,265 rushing yards – as well as 34 total touchdowns – on offense. If he were to join Ohio State’s class, he would join several fellow safety signees in Jayden Bonsu, Malik Hartford and Cedrick Hawkins.