Zachariah Branch recalls Georgia's recruiting pitch to him in the transfer portal

Zachariah Branch knew the exact type of culture he was looking for when he and his brother, Zion, entered the NCAA Transfer Portal last December. So much so, the former five-star USC freshman took the extra step to check the “do not contact” tag.

Less than three weeks later, the Branch brothers committed to transfer to Georgia, providing the Bulldogs a packaged pair of talented playmakers on either side of the ball.

During a recent press conference three weeks into Georgia’s Spring practice schedule, Zachariah Branch pulled back the curtain on his whirlwind recruitment from Los Angeles to Athens, including what head coach Kirby Smart said to seal the deal. For Branch, it was the personal touch that made the difference.

“They just felt like I was an explosive player and also a great person off the field that’d be a great fit in the locker room to help encourage certain guys to ultimately reach that goal toward the end of the season,” Zachariah Branch said Tuesday. “That’s something that they told me, they felt like me and my brother both were great people as well as players. I just felt like I wanted to get a chance to be apart of that tradition and culture at Georgia.”

Following a difficult 2024 season that ended in a College Football Playoff quarterfinal loss to Notre Dame a month after upsetting Texas in overtime of the SEC Championship, Zachariah Branch knows Georgia has the type of culture that will have the Bulldogs back in the national title mix in 2025.

“A lot of things impacted me to come to Georgia. First and foremost, I’d say the culture that Coach Kirby Smart and the coaching staff have established. I feel like it’s a real brotherhood and not just words,” Branch said. “Just to be surrounded by a lot of likeminded players as well, all trying to get toward the same goal is something that’s really important to me as well. Once I got into that portal, it was pretty easy to make my decision from there.”

Zachariah Branch on Gunner Stockton impressions: ‘I knew he was a dog’

Zachariah Branch is pretty excited to play with new Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton this season. He knew he was “a dog.”

So if these two can get on the same page, the Bulldogs offense could have some explosions this coming fall. Branch was a star at USC as a return man and wide receiver, being one of the fastest guys on the field at any time.

If there’s something that the Georgia offense wants in 2025, it’s to be dynamic. Perhaps Branch and Stockton can fulfill that role.

“I knew he was a dog since we, you know, started off in the workouts,” Branch said. “I mean, I can tell easily from, you know, the work ethic and how you prepare yourself to go out there and be the best version of yourself. I can definitely tell that, he was really trying to compete with every rep. When we’re doing conditioning, he’s really trying to win, trying to push himself to be the best version of himself. 

“And that’s what I like to surround myself around, so you know me and Gunner we clicked off pretty early, got a chance to be on the same page, ran some routes on our own time just to get that chemistry down and you know he’s been a real help for me and this offense as well.”

— On3’s Nick Kosko contributed to this report.