Colin Leander Branch (born August 30, 1980) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He was selected in the fourth round of the

2003 NFL draft The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936 NF ...

by the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

Early life

Branch graduated from Carlsbad High School in 1998.

College career

Branch played

. As a senior in 2002, he was named Honorable Mention All-

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

after compiling 69 tackles.

Professional career

Carolina Panthers

Branch was selected in the fourth round with the 119th pick of the

by the

. In 2004, Branch had 55 tackles and three interceptions for the Panthers, while starting 15 games. During the 2005 season, he suffered a knee injury, missing the season. Branch made 19 tackles and one interception in 2006, with four starts.

Oakland Raiders

Branch signed with the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

on June 8, 2007. He was released by them on August 27, 2007.

Personal life

Branch is currently married to the former April Sage of

North Charleston, South Carolina North Charleston is a city in Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina.City Planning Department (2008-07)City of North Charleston boundary map. City of North Charleston. Retrieved January 21, 2011. As ...

and they have four children together, sons Kendrick, Aaron and Salem Calvin (named after Colin's father, Calvin Stanley Branch, and brother Calvin Stanley Branch Jr.), and daughter Sage.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Branch, Colin Living people 1980 births American football safeties Carolina Panthers players Stanford Cardinal football players Players of American football from Cincinnati Oakland Raiders players