Lincoln Riley shares chances Zion Branch, Domani Jackson play in postseason

USC‘s defense is mightily struggling under Lincoln Riley and could use some freshman reinforcements to help the cause. Defensive backs Zion Branch and Domani Jackson have missed time due to injury this season but as we get later into the year, there was some thought they could come back. Riley provided an update on both, dishing out both good and bad news.

He began by saying it’s unlikely Branch gets onto the field this season. “The nature of the injury” was the main reason cited, even if he is making progress and looking good on the practice field.

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“With the nature of the injury, probably won’t happen,” Riley said. “We’d love to. I mean, he looks good there running around in pads. He’s going to be a tremendous player. He’s very, very far ahead of schedule so we’ve been really impressed with his rehab. Although, the nature of the injury, it’s not one where we’re going to rush him back.”

Branch was a four-star prospect coming out of high school, being ranked the No. 7 safety in the 2022 class. The On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting services, had Branch as the top player from his home state of Nevada as well.

Lincoln Riley shares positive news on Domani Jackson

As for Jackson, Riley says the former Five-Star Plus+ prospect will get back onto the field. He did not provide an exact timeline though, with just three games remaining. However, Jackson will get back into the thick of things under defensive coordinator Alex Grinch soon.

“Domani, progressing,” said Riley. “Still certainly thinks there’s a shot for him to be able to be available for us here in the back end of the year. He’s certainly closer than further away so we hope here at the end of the regular season, postseason, have his services available.

“He’s made some really nice progress these past few weeks. Starting to get him on the ground, moving, and doing some drill work. He’s certainly getting close so it will be a nice added boost for us.”

Jackson was a huge recruiting win for USC, with the five-star picking the Trojans over the likes of Alabama. He was the No. 5 player in the country and the top prospect in California coming out of Mater Dei High School.