lolnd

I've been wanting to write a Spring Football Bits for weeks, except the biggest news coming out of there isn't what's happening on the field for 2023 but which high schoolers have been coming by to watch it. So here we are, mid Spring Ball of the most anticipated season since 2006, rolling out an update on teenagers who might sign in 2024 or 2025 and be relevant by 2026.

Oh, and one stray 2023 that's still out there.

Safety swipe. VA 4* ATH Brandyn Hillman recently asked out of his NLI to Notre Dame and is expected to join either Michigan or Ohio State($, info in title), with Michigan calling within 15 minutes of Hillman reopening his recruitment. Lorenz agrees Michigan is in front($) but makes it sound more like a 4-point lead, with Ohio State about to get possession($), as Bill Kurelic says OSU is the only school that's currently certain to get visit (video). OSU was the loser of a 5-star battle with Bama for #1 safety/#6 overall Caleb Downs on Early Signing Day. USC, who missed out late on TX 4* Warren Roberson, also offered.

Michigan didn't have a pure safety in the class but brought in three guys who redshirted in 2022 and a couple more ATHs in Jason Hewlett and DJ Waller who project to the LB and CB sides of the safety range, respectively, meaning they can afford Hillman time to develop. Not so at Notre Dame, where the safety depth chart is starting resemble their 4-scholarship player basketball roster. Their 2023 class also got raided over the course of the cycle.

Hillman played QB and several other positions in high school but it's pretty clear this is a safety offer, not a last second quarterback. He's shown out at camps, most recently at the Polynesian Bowl. Tim Prister describes a versatile "wrecking ball" and "Point A to Point B missile" who's sized like a pure safety but brings a LB's mentality. All that sounds more like Khaleke Hudson.

So how did Hillman slip loose? Hillman said "personal reasons." MnB did some message board sleuthing but only found Tom Loy claiming academics but not just academics:

[Loy] stated he “believes academics played a role here in this decision” for him to leave Notre Dame. Loy further stated there were “some hurdles” to getting him academically admitted, but Notre Dame didn’t push to get him cleared. Apparently this is a specific academic problem related to Notre Dame, otherwise high academic schools like Michigan, Vanderbilt and Virginia likely would not have offered.

It's my understanding that Michigan and Notre Dame have the same academic approach—the teams get a handful of "trust us" counters for freshmen who are reasonably close but everyone else has to get in on their own—which means non-qualifiers either A) didn't meet the minimal standard for a counter, or B) were supposed to get in on their own and now need a counter. Loy's claim that ND "didn't push to get him cleared" is a nod toward 'B' but could also translate to "he told us not to bother."

[After THE JUMP: Phil Brabbs gets a downgrade]

Four-star Reno (NV) Damonte Ranch quarterback Cade McNamara made an early commitment to Notre Dame last July. He picked up a Michigan offer in January. On March 3rd, he decommitted from the Irish. This evening, he posted some news:

I have been waiting to find this place for a long time. I am very excited to announce I will be committing to the University of Michigan. #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/f37mCHhmXo

— Cade McNamara (@Cademac12_QB) March 17, 2018

McNamara is the sixth commit in the 2019 class, which now ranks fifth nationally, and the first at quarterback. He holds offers from the likes of Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and USC. I'll have the full Hello post tomorrow afternoon.

[Isaiah Hole/247]

Fresh off an official visit for the Illinois game, four-star Beaver Falls (PA) DT/SDE Donovan Jeter announced his commitment to Michigan this afternoon.

#GoBlue  pic.twitter.com/vKvVZ5ufOC

— Donovan Jeter (@__5god__) October 23, 2016

Jeter decommitted from Notre Dame a week ago in part because of a conversation with Greg Mattison. He gave your new favorite recruiting quote to Pittsburgh Sports Now in the aftermath:

“I don’t want to play for a mediocre school,” he said. “I don’t want to play for a team that goes like 7-6. I want to go to a school that plays in the big bowl games or plays in the College Football Playoff. I don’t want to go to an average school because I don’t think I’m an average player. I want to make big time plays on a big time stage.”

It's been a good weekend.

GURU RATINGS

Jeter played strongside end for Beaver Falls at around 300 pounds last year, but has dropped ~50 pounds and plays on 3-4 DE this year. He's listed at 6'5" on three of the four sites (Scout says 6'6") and between 250 (247) and 270 (ESPN) pounds. He could be a three-tech or a strongside end in Michigan's defense.

SCOUTING

Jeter comes from an athletic family. Both of his older brothers have played college basketball at a high level: Lance Jeter (6'3", 225) was an all-conference guard at Nebraska, and Sheldon Jeter (6'8", 230) was a productive sixth man for Pitt as a junior last year. Donovan, of course, wound up with a slightly different body type.

There's surprisingly little on Jeter in the scouting department from before his Notre Dame commitment in September. All I could find was an undated ESPN underclassman eval that they've since updated, but the old one is worth posting to provide a starting point—it's probably from before his junior year since it mentions a need to add weight:

STRENGTHS: Tall with massive frame and great strength. Powerful at the point of attack and is difficult to move off the ball. Possesses good lateral agility and balance in space. Uses length to keep blockers at bay. Reads quickly and can counter Aggressive player with a great motor. ... AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT: Will need to fill out his ample frame. Not overly sudden and a bit of a long strider. Needs to refine his stacking and shedding. ... BOTTOM LINE: Jeter is a strong, aggressive kid with prototypical size and more than enough speed. We believe he has the potential to develop into a well-rounded defensive end at the next level. He has plenty of upside.

[Hit THE JUMP for more scouting, video, and the rest.]