ANN ARBOR, Mich. — He might not be lighting up the stat sheets, but Brandyn Hillman truly burst onto the scene on Saturday in the game against Minnesota.
Thrust into action with Makari Paige’s late-game injury, the second-year safety who had originally signed with Notre Dame showed his penchant for hard hitting. On Tuesday, he explained how he grew into the role. And it started all the way back to when he was young.
“I always played both sides of ball growing up — offense, defense,” Hillman said. “So I played safety growing up. My grandma used to hold up a pillow in front of the couch, and I, like, run full speed and hit the pillow as hard as I can. So that kind of transitioned to football and the way I play on defense.”
Wide receiver Kendrick Bell can attest that Hillman is a heat-seeking missile on the playing field.
As a pass catcher having to go up against defensive backs in good-on-good periods in practice, Bell is well aware that if Hillman is coming at you, it’s going to leave a mark.
“I don’t know, that man’s wild!” Bell said. “In practice, you got to sit down a little bit, though — you can’t hit somebody crazy. But, I mean, he’s a — I don’t know how to explain it. He’s a headhunter, though that’s what he is. He’s a headhunter. He’s out of control sometimes!”
Hillman credits his grandmother for his love for sports but notes that his mother broke things down quite simply when it comes to playing defensive football.
“I just keep attacking the ball,” Hillman said. “My mom said see ball, hit ball. I’m a defensive player, so I got to stand by that. That’s my job, and I’m the last line of defense, so I got to make sure I get the person down.”
Hillman and the Michigan defense will be back in action on Saturday when the Wolverines head on the road to face Washington.