By Jerry Ratcliffe

When Michigan defensive back Brandyn Hillman entered the transfer portal, his first call came from Virginia’s Tony Elliott, who opened the conversation with a simple question.

“You want to get it right this time around?” Elliott said, breaking the ice with the Virginia high school star that he had attempted to recruit out of Portsmouth’s Churchland in 2023.

Back then, the 4-star, two-way player could have gone pretty much anywhere. He spurned offers from Ohio State, Miami, Oklahoma, Southern Cal, and had actually committed to Notre Dame before pulling out of that decision and signed with Michigan.

Hillman delivered eye-popping performances as a quarterback, who posted more than 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards passing as a junior and senior at Churchland. But the big time programs valued him more as an NFL-potential safety and that’s where he stood out for the Wolverines, making Honorable Mention All-Big Ten last season.

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