Michigan football freshman “freak” is quietly on the rise

Heading into the season, Michigan football freshman standouts like Fredrick Moore, Semaj Morgan, Jyaire Hill, and others were all expected to make a big splash for the Wolverines this fall. That said, one newcomer that was not talked about nearly as much as Brandyn Hillman, a former four-star commit in Jim Harbaugh’s 2023 recruiting class, who is among the top 5 most-played freshmen heading into the Big Ten conference opener this weekend.

Michigan football freshman “freak” is quietly on the rise

Earlier this season, Michigan football standout defensive back Keon Sabb — who has seen a lot of playing time so far this year due to injuries in the defensive back room — broke down a Michigan football freshman “freak” on the defensive side of the football. Who is it, you may ask? None other than Brandyn Hillman, who is gradually making a name for himself in Jesse Minter’s defense.

“Kid’s a freak athlete,” Keon Sabb said of Hillman. “I’ve seen him on the court a couple of times. Once he gets comfortable, give him some time, he’s going to be a really good player. On the basketball court, I’ve seen him throw up some windmills, some different types of dunks that you see from some high-level players.”

Brandyn Hillman among most-played newcomers for the Wolverines

So far this year, Brandyin Hillman — who was a top 150 prospect out of high school and the No. 7 athlete in his class — has gotten 40 in-game snaps for the Wolverines. This means that, despite not getting the hype that other Michigan football freshman contributors are getting, Hillman ranks 4th among the Wolverines’ freshman class when it comes to playing time. (247 Sports)

On the year, Hillman has recorded two tackles and looks to continue building on his early season success moving forward as the competition gets tougher. Seeing as conference games are about to be underway for the Wolverines, expect the freshmen to see the field less; however, that does not mean that the entire 2023 class won’t eventually get their chance to make some plays this fall — especially Hillman, who is on the rise right now.

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