S Brandyn Hillman’s path to Michigan Football, outlook for 2025

Michigan could have a rising star in its secondary with Brandyn Hillman projected to take over a starting safety role. Here’s a look at his career so far and what to expect this season:

Michigan’s secondary is going to look a bit different in 2025. Gone are the likes of Will Johnson, Quinten Johnson and Makari Paige, players who have been key parts of Michigan’s recent defensive success. But the Wolverines have some young, talented players eager to make an impact.

One of those players is Brandyn Hillman, a rising junior that should get significant snaps at safety this year. He first started making an impact on defense near the end of last season, positioning himself for a bigger role in 2025.

The story so far

Hillman didn’t exactly take the conventional route in his recruitment. As a member of the 2023 class, he had actually signed with Notre Dame, but requested and was granted release from his letter of intent in March 2023. Shortly thereafter, Hillman announced his commitment to Michigan, adding one last piece to Jim Harbaugh’s final recruiting class.

Prior to his commitment, Hillman had developed a strong reputation on the recruiting circuit. He was ranked as a four-star recruit by 247Sports’ composite . He was the No. 5 ranked player in the state of Virginia while playing ball at Churchland High School in Portsmouth.

Due to the logjam of experienced defensive talent on the roster, Hillman faced an uphill battle for significant snaps as a true freshman. Still, he managed to play in nine games on both special teams and defense.

As a sophomore in 2024, the path to playing time became a bit more clear and he ended up playing in 12 games, taking on a larger role as the season progressed. Hillman made three tackles against Michigan State , and another four tackles against both Indiana and Northwestern. He was also one of the handful of standout contributors on defense against Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl, when he had four tackles, one sack, and one pass breakup.

Outlook for 2025

Coming off his strong end to 2024, Hillman has understandably gotten plenty of buzz this offseason. There are more opportunities for playing time with some of the veterans no longer in college, and it would make sense for him to jump into a starting role. Of course, Michigan will be getting Rod Moore back in 2025 as well, but coming off an injury that left him sidelined for all of 2024, it remains to be seen where the coaching staff will slot him in.

An interesting wrinkle to Michigan’s secondary this year is that while there’s plenty of depth, there’s also plenty of versatility . In other words, Michigan will likely rotate plenty of defensive backs at different spots throughout fall camp until they find the right mix.

For Hillman, he’s shown he’s able to thrive in the box, which means he could be a candidate to get reps at both safety and nickel. As we saw last year, he’s an extremely physical player that became known for his hard-hitting style of play. His sideline-to-sideline speed also makes him an asset against both the run and the pass.

Guys like Moore, Curtis and Tevis Metcalf will be candidates for similar roles, so Hillman might have some competition to fend off. Still, he’s got a leg up in terms of experience over Curtis and Metcalf, while Moore is still working his way back to full health.

Regardless of where specifically he’s playing, Hillman will undoubtedly have a large role in Michigan’s defense for 2025.