Zachariah Branch describes his USC debut after big Week 0 performance

During a light Week 0 slate, USC playmaker Zachariah Branch was the star of the first college football Saturday of 2023.

The former top recruit is already making his mark as a true freshman. In the Trojan opener vs. San Jose State, he starred as the punt and kickoff return man, where he took back one kickoff for a touchdown and also had an impressive punt return.

You can see both of those plays below, along with his four catches that totaled 58 yards, in his highlight clips right here:

He's only a freshman 😱

Zachariah Branch had himself a night! pic.twitter.com/PQuhJruX24

— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) August 27, 2023

After his tremendous debut performance, Branch was one of the USC players to get to speak with media afterward — a rarity for freshmen, especially true freshmen, in a Lincoln Riley program. He young gun was just happy to be there.

“You know, it was always a dream for me to to be at a prestigious University and be around the elite staff and the elite players,” shared Branch. “So all day, you know, they were juicing us up from the morning all the way up into the game. And I was just real excited.”

In order to avoid any first game jitters, Branch said the staff made sure the players were relaxed and ready to trust themselves in the game.

“And then, I mean, our coaches always told us to, you know, just trust our instinct, trust our process and let me just go out there and execute. I mean, once I attach that end zone, the crowd turned me up a little bit.”

Coach Riley also commented on the rookie’s performance, explaining why it warranted bringing him to the podium.

“I haven’t done it much, but once guys play, that’s part of it,” Riley said. “It’s not freshmen, it’s not seniors in there, it’s just USC football players.”

The USC coach continued his praise of the true freshman:

“I felt like he earned it, made an impact on offense, made an impact on special teams. I thought he did a good job not trying to do too much which guys in their first game sometimes will do. I thought his patience, especially on the return, you saw a lot of patience there which was key.”

As a member of the Class of 2023, Zachariah Branch was a five-star recruit out of Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 1 overall prospect in the state, the No. 1 wide receiver in the class and the No. 4 overall prospect in the class.