Zachariah Branch remains questionable for USC against Notre Dame
As of Thursday morning, there is still no definitive answer as to whether standout true freshman Zachariah Branch will take the field with the USC Trojans this weekend in their rivalry showdown against Notre Dame.
Head coach Lincoln Riley confirmed Thursday that Branch continues to deal with an injury and has not yet been a full participant at USC practices. The 5-foot-10, 175-pound wide receiver and return specialist sat out USC’s previous two games, at Colorado and home against Arizona.
“Progressing,” Riley said of Branch. “Still hasn’t been a full participant yet. I do think he’s making progress. We’ll kind of watch to see, but [he’ll] need to continue to make some jumps here to be ready for us. So, hopefully he can continue to progress over the next few days.”
Riley said Branch has improved from where he was last week heading into the Arizona game, but still “not able to do everything yet.”
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“He’s eager, but we obviously want to be smart to make sure that we turn him loose at the right time,” Riley said.
Despite missing the past two games, Branch still ranks fourth for the Trojans with 13 receptions and four receiving touchdowns, and fifth with 178 receiving yards. USC is also missing him as both a punt and kickoff returner. He averaged 22.57 yards on seven punt returns over the first four games, which included a 75-yard touchdown return. He was also dynamic as a kickoff returner, averaging 28.5 yards on six kickoff returns, including a 96-yard score in the season opener.
USC’s offense has gotten the job done each of the past two games without him. However, the Trojans got off to a slow start against Arizona and scored just 28 points in regulation. USC does seem to miss a little bit of the spark Branch provided for the offense as Riley was able to use him in some creative ways in the slot and out of the backfield. He’d be a big boost if he’s able to return against a Notre Dame team that will be playing to save its season this weekend.
