Lincoln Riley discusses the impact of Zachariah Branch in USC's Week 0 victory

It was a banner night for USC freshman wide receiver Zachariah Branch in the Trojans’ 56-28 win over San Jose State.

The season opener couldn’t have gone much better as USC cruised to a 1-0 start in 2023. Branch was a big part of it in his debut, showing USC has a potential superstar at wideout.

Head coach Lincoln Riley brought him to the postgame press conference, a rarity for a freshman, and explained why he stood out in the win.

“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. 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.”

Branch finished the game with four catches, 58 yards and a touchdown in his debut. He also had a 12 yard run during the game. Not only that, he took a kickoff back 96 yards for a touchdown.

“It was always a dream for me to be at a prestigious university and be around an elite staff and elite players,” Branch said. “So all day you know, they were juicing us up from morning all the way up until the game, and I was just really excited.

“I mean, our coaches always told us to just trust our instincts, trust our process and to just go out there and be the best that we can be. So I mean, just to go out there week in and week out, and just try to produce the same amount every week.”

As a member of the Class of 2023, 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.

“I didn’t really have any expectations,” Branch said. “Coach Riley and the rest of the staff just told me to go out there and don’t try to do too much, execute your job and I mean the rest will follow. I was blessed enough to get those opportunities and I just tried to capitalize off of them.”