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Two USC Commits Remain Five-Stars in Updated On300 Rankings

Erik-McKinneyby:Erik McKinney07/18/22

ErikTMcKinney

Zachariah Branch

The 2023 On300 Rankings received an update on Monday in the aftermath of the Elite 11 Finals and the Future 50 event.

Two USC commitments remained five-stars, though they moved within the rankings.

The new top commitment in this 2023 class for the Trojans is wide receiver Zachariah Branch.

The 5-foot-10, 176-pound receiver is now the No. 5 overall prospect in the country, having jumped from No. 9 in the last rankings. He maintains his hold on the No. 1 wide receiver spot as well.

Branch is coming off a dominant showing at the Under Armour Future 50 event. He was named the overall MVP by On3 and On3 Director of Scouting Charles Power called that “an easy choice.”

Power was again effusive in his praise for Branch with the rankings update.

“Branch is one of the surest bets in the 2023 recruiting cycle,” Power said. To this point, he has a case as the best wide receiver prospect in a few cycles.”

Malachi Nelson Remains a Five-Star

USC quarterback commit Malachi Nelson dropped a bit in this update but he remains firmly as a five-star prospect. He moved from No. 2 overall to No. 14, but is still one of just three Five-Star Plus+ prospects in this class.

Power reflected on the rankings change for Nelson:

“Nelson keeps his fifth star but moves down a bit in the five-star ranks after in-person evaluations at OT7, the Elite 11 Finals and Future 50. Nelson’s play ranged over the three events. While he turned in some good and perhaps not-so-good performances, others ranked behind him turned in better showings (in our opinion) when competing head-to-head. It’s a deep quarterback cycle at the top and there are a number of signal callers who could challenge Nelson as potential five-stars.”

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Nelson is still one of just three five-star quarterbacks in this class.

Other USC Commits in the Updated Rankings

Four-star wide receiver Makai Lemon is the No. 100 overall prospect, which is a slight drop from his previous place at No. 89.

Four-star running back A’Marion Peterson saw the same slight drop, moving from No. 199 to No. 218 overall. On3 is still the only recruiting service that has him in the national rankings.

Four-star offensive lineman Amos Talalele moved up a few spots, from No. 283 to No. 280. He’s another prospect On3 is higher on that other services. He’s a three-star prospect in the other three rankings.

Four-star running back Quinten Joyner slid from No. 238 down to No. 283. He’s now the No. 16 running back nationally.

Four-star cornerback Braxton Myers fell out of the On300 Rankings.

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