Penn State commit Antonio Branch set to visit elsewhere this weekend
One of Penn State’s defensive backs is set to visit another school this upcoming weekend. On Wednesday night, safety Antonio Branch confirmed via social media that he’s planning to travel to Boulder, Col., to attend Colorado’s game against Baylor on Saturday night. Branch recently earned a scholarship offer from Deion Sanders and his staff two weeks ago, Sept. 5.
A native of Miami, Fla., Branch earned just over a dozen scholarship offers over the past two years. He took two official visits back in the spring, the first of which was to Nebraska for its spring game, April 25-27. He then followed that up with an official visit to Penn State from May 31 to June 2.
Branch originally planned to follow those visits up with official visits to Florida (June 14-16) and Louisville (June 21-23) but he ultimately decided to commit to Penn State on June 19.
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“My relationship with Coach [Anthony Poindexter] is real good,” Branch said. “We’ve been locked in ever since they came down there and offered me, so we’ve been in touch for a minute. He’s everything you can ask for in a coach, and not too many can say they’re in the College Football Hall of Fame at what they coach. But yeah, they love me at the safety position. I’ll be ready to play anywhere they need me to win games.”
Now, it appears as if Penn State has work to do if they’re going to keep the Northwestern safety committed. Listed at 6-foot-2, 175 pounds, Branch is off to an excellent start this season, totaling 27 tackles, one tackle for loss and two forced fumbles in his first three games.
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According to On3’s Industry Rankings, which combines On3, 247Sports, Rivals and ESPN for a cumulative rating for each player, Branch holds a four-star rating. Nationally, he’s ranked No. 388 in the nation for his class. He’s the 37th-ranked safety and No. 53 overall in Florida.
Branch is one of two safety prospects that Penn State currently has committed to its 2025 class, joining New Jersey native Braswell Thomas. The Nittany Lions have earned commitments from 25 players total but still continue to work on prospects across the country to add to the class.
Earlier this week, head coach James Franklin extended a scholarship offer to Pittsburgh Central Catholic Ath. Bradley Gompers. Penn State then followed that up with a new offer on Wednesday evening to Ohio Ath. Chaz Coleman. Both Coleman and Gompers could play tight end in college, although we believe the staff likes Gompers primarily as a linebacker. Coleman could also play defensive end.
