The way Dontrell Leonard remembers it, Brandyn Hillman’s ascent started with one big hit.

Heading into his senior season at Churchland High School in Portsmouth, Va., Hillman had one scholarship offer to play quarterback at Norfolk State. Because quarterback was his primary position, college programs didn’t pick up on his defensive potential right away.

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That changed one night in September. Hillman, a four-star safety who signed with Michigan on Sunday after being released from his letter of intent at Notre Dame, was playing defensive back in a game against Norview High School. Defending a tunnel screen, Hillman lowered his shoulder and sent the wide receiver spinning through the air.

Three days later, Virginia Tech offered him a scholarship. Kentucky, Tennessee and Notre Dame offered later that week, with USC and Miami not far behind.

“Brandyn locked eyes with him and hit the kid on the shoulder pads and made him do a helicopter,” said Leonard, Hillman’s coach at Churchland. “After he posted that, it was like everything took off for him recruiting-wise.”

🖊️ 𝓢𝓲𝓰𝓷𝓮𝓭

A big addition to our secondary. Welcome home, @dmv_b3!#GoBlue

— Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) March 19, 2023

Of all the schools that swooped in, Notre Dame was the most persistent. Two days after offering Hillman a scholarship, Notre Dame’s coaches flew out to watch him play, Leonard said. Hillman got the full-court press from Notre Dame’s entire staff, including defensive coordinator Al Golden and head coach Marcus Freeman. When it was time for Hillman to make a decision in December, there was no question which school had earned his commitment.

“Nobody in the country recruited him like Notre Dame,” Leonard said. “Did he get recruited by a lot of people? Yes. But the consistency of Notre Dame was consistent from the first time they called me.”

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Both sides seemed thrilled about the match. Freeman and Golden raved about Hillman’s versatility and his mentality, and Hillman showed no signs of wavering in his decision.

Leonard’s first inkling that something was up came when people started asking him about Hillman earlier this month. Soon after, Hillman posted on social media that he’d been granted his release from Notre Dame and would be reopening his recruitment. Going through the recruiting process in March of his senior year wasn’t something Hillman anticipated, but he took it in stride.

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“I didn’t stress about it too much,” Hillman said. “I just trusted the process. After I was released from Notre Dame, the next day I posted a Michigan offer. I just took one step at a time. People are just saying this is God’s plan, so I’m sticking by it, step by step.”

On Wednesday, Freeman described Hillman’s switch as “a personal decision he made.” Hillman said the decision stemmed from an admissions issue that prevented him from enrolling at Notre Dame.

“Admissions denied me for Notre Dame,” Hillman said. “As you can see, I could have committed to any other school. Notre Dame had requirements I had to meet, and I didn’t meet it.”

Within hours of reopening his recruitment, Hillman had offers from Michigan, Ohio State, USC and Wisconsin. Michigan wasn’t much of a factor in Hillman’s initial recruitment, Leonard said, but the Wolverines made a strong impression the second time around. Hillman joined a large group of visitors in Ann Arbor this past weekend and saw enough to cancel his plans with other schools.

Hillman bonded quickly with defensive backs coach Steve Clinkscale, who pitched him on the opportunity to play an NFL-style role in Michigan’s secondary.

“The defense they run is really complex,” Hillman said. “It’s an NFL style of defense. I’d rather learn now than have to learn later. He rotates a lot of DBs in different positions, so if you’re a safety, you’re not just going to be playing safety. You’re going to be playing nickel, corner, blitzing. I wanted to play in a real complex defense so I could get all the schemes under my belt.”

Hillman’s situation created an opportunity for Michigan to add a player to its 2023 recruiting class long after most incoming freshmen signed their letters of intent. Michigan didn’t have a safety in its 2023 class, and although it’s not the position of greatest need, adding a player of Hillman’s caliber is a significant development.

Hillman is ranked No. 214 nationally in the 247Sports Composite, which makes him a top-five player in Michigan’s class. The versatility to play all over the field is part of what appealed to Notre Dame, and it’s part of the appeal for Michigan, too.

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Leonard described Hillman as a “human hit stick” who flies around the field at 6 feet 1 and 191 pounds. Safety is Hillman’s most likely position, but if he had enrolled at Notre Dame, Freeman would have given both coordinators a chance to make their case.

“He is physical, ball-hawking on defense, punishing, making plays on offense,” Freeman said when Hillman signed with the Fighting Irish. “That’s one of those guys you watched the film and said, ‘OK, he’s a football player.’ (You) get him in your program and find out.”

Michigan returns all three members of last year’s safety rotation in Rod Moore, Makari Paige and R.J. Moten, plus a pair of highly touted safeties from the Class of 2022 in Keon Sabb and Zeke Berry. Coming out of the February signing period, Michigan seemed content to roll with that group in 2023 and focus its attention on the Class of 2024.

When Hillman became available late in the game, it created an opportunity for the Wolverines to bolster their class in an unexpected way. It created an opportunity for Hillman, too, even if Michigan wasn’t his first choice.

“The way the coaches (at Michigan) interact with the players, that’s the kind of team I want to be on,” Hillman said. “I want to be pushed every day. I don’t want nothing given to me.”

(Photo: Aaron J. Thornton / Getty Images)