Zachariah Branch (born March 29, 2004) is an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

and

return specialist A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another positio ...

for the

Georgia Bulldogs The Georgia Bulldogs are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The offic ...

. He previously played for the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans (also Southern California Trojans) are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ...

Early life and high school

Branch was born on March 29, 2004, the youngest of two sons to Sheve and Renee Branch. His father is a sports performance coach. Branch and his brother grew up attending USC football games. Branch was raised in Las Vegas and attended

Bishop Gorman High School Bishop Gorman High School (commonly referred to as Gorman or BGHS) is a four-year private, Roman Catholic college preparatory school located in Las Vegas, Nevada. The school is administered by the Archdiocese of Las Vegas. The school opened i ...

. He was one of the top players in the

2023 college football recruiting class The college football recruiting class of 2023 refers to the recruiting of high school athletes to play college football in the United States, starting in the fall of 2023. The scope of this article covers: (a) the colleges and universities with r ...

, ranked No. 6 nationally by

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

and No. 9 by

247Sports 247Sports is an American network of websites that focus mainly on college recruiting, athletic recruitment in college football and college basketball, basketball. It is owned and operated by Paramount Global, Paramount. The website hosts a large ...

. He was the top wide receiver in the class.

College career

USC

Branch enrolled at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

in early 2023. In June 2023, he was recorded on a treadmill sprint at 26 miles per hour, close to

Usain Bolt Usain St. Leo Bolt (; born 21 August 1986) is a Jamaican retired sprinter who is widely regarded as the greatest sprinter of all time. He is an eight-time Olympic gold medalist and the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, ...

's top speed. Prior to the start of the 2023 season, he was selected by

as a true freshman preseason All-American. In his college football debut, Branch tallied 232 all-purpose yards, including his first touchdown reception and a 96-yard kickoff return. Following his first game, the ''Los Angeles Times'' wrote that his "feats had even his opponents in awe", and his speed and ability to change direction drew comparisons to

Reggie Bush Reginald Alfred Bush II (born March 2, 1985) is an American former professional football running back. He played college football for the USC Trojans, earning consensus All-American honors twice and winning the 2005 Heisman Trophy. Bush is wide ...

. In December 2024, Branch entered the transfer portal.

Georgia

On January 5, 2025, Branch announced his decision to transfer to the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

to play for the

, alongside his brother, Zion.

College statistics

References

External links

USC Trojans bio

Georgia Bulldogs bio
2004 births Living people American football wide receivers American football return specialists Bishop Gorman High School alumni USC Trojans football players All-American college football players Players of American football from Las Vegas {{widereceiver-stub