2022 LSU Football Recruit Zion Branch Hoping to Carry on Legacy of NFL Legend, Uncle Cliff Branch
Zion Branch knows how lucky he is to have had an uncle like Cliff Branch. The Oakland Raiders legendary receiver and three-time Super Bowl champion was always there to lend a hand to a young Zion as he was coming up in the football world.
In his illustrious 14-year career with the Raiders, Cliff was a four time Pro Bowler, three time first-team All Pro and racked up 8,685 yards and 67 touchdowns. He has yet to be voted into the Hall of Fame, but his name has been on the ballot three separate occasions, in 2004, 2010 and 2011.
Cliff lived in California while Zion lived in Las Vegas but throughout Zion's childhood, the two would find ways to go Raider games. When Cliff would head down to Las Vegas for an autograph signing, catching up with Zion and his brother, Zachariah, was always something he would do.
His uncle was one of the many reasons Zion fell in love with football and found himself constantly asking for advice. In Zion's freshman year at Bishop Gorman High School, the Gaels traveled to Concord, California for a game against De La Salle High School.
Cliff made the drive to go see him play in person for the very first time.
"That was the biggest moment to me," Zion said. "He was able to watch film of a lot of my games and stuff like that but when he came to see me in person, that was really big. That was the first and only time he got to see me play and said I did great. It meant a lot coming from someone like him."
Cliff passed away at the age of 71 on Aug. 3, 2019 and Zion remembers the last conversation he had with his uncle.
"I think it was at a signing when he came down to Vegas. It was at a Raider store and we had a nice 30 minute conversation," Zion said. "We talked about life stuff really and he was asking how I was doing with football. That was right when my recruiting process was starting to pick up and he was telling me to stay focused. That's really going to stick with me.
"He would also tell me that if I ever made it to the NFL, I'd always have a spot with the Raiders. He was really just a big influence on me. Knowing that you have a great one in your family that you can look up to, is just a big time inspiration."
Now Zion is hoping to continue the family legacy as he's turned into one of the premier prospects in the 2022 class.
In the last two months alone, Branch has picked up offers from Georgia, Ohio State, Clemson, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee and Michigan State. LSU officially offered the Las Vegas native on Jun. 10 after what Branch described as a productive phone call with the LSU coaching staff including Ed Orgeron and Corey Raymond.
"They basically told me that if I want to go to LSU, they'll definitely have a spot for me," Branch said. "He [Orgeron] really talked about about how my type of play would fit in their system. I'm kind of like a field general, I can play field side safety and they're really big on DB's so that's really big for me."
Aggressiveness and ball skills are the two traits Raymond was most impressed with by watching Branch's film as well as his ability to come up in the box and make plays in the back field. His ball instincts are what stand out to Branch most in his sophomore tape and play a big role in why so many of these top notch programs have reached out to him in recent weeks.
At 6-foot-3, 190 pounds, Branch is physically gifted to be a dominant safety at the next level and it shows on the field. He's also a track athlete, competing in the 110-hurdles, long jump and triple jump, adding to his athletic prowess.
The Bishop Gorman High School product is currently No. 3 ranked safety and No. 74 overall player on 247Sports and attributes it to his quantum jump from his freshman to sophomore year.
"I had five picks and a lot of big hits so that's the kind of stuff that jumps out on film and really showcases a lot of what I can do on the football field," Branch said. "There are some guys that are big but can't move but I have a track background so that helps. Running track, you've gotta be flexible and playing DB, you've gotta have good hips so the two really go hand and hand."
While the attention has been great for Branch in regards to the number of teams that want him to be a part of their programs, he feels he's not even close to scratching the surface of how good he can become. This offseason has primarily been spent in the weight room as his father is the track coach at Bishop Gorman and part owner of a gym.
So while most high school prospects were restricted from gyms during the quarantine, on account of them being closed, Zion and his brother Zachariah were putting in work.
"This year we're going to be playing more man-to-man and my brother's a wide receiver so we've been getting a lot of one-on-one work," Branch said. "I want to show that I can play press coverage and I've been working on that a lot this offseason. It's an advantage for me because I think my brother's the best receiver in his class so getting that work with him is only making me better."
Branch said he and Zachariah have gone back and watched some of the LSU games from the 2019 season as both followed the historic season from a distance. Recognizing the nature of that season, the brothers wanted to go back and see just what set the Tigers apart from the rest of the teams in the country.
When watching the secondary, Branch particularly focused on safety Grant Delpit, who he tries to model his own game after.
"He's so aggressive and he can be patient as well," Branch said. "He's really a role model for me and I try to mimic my game after his. They were so dynamic last year on defense and I was in awe that they're even interested in me."
Branch said he plans on taking a visit out to Baton Rouge this fall and actually has family on his mothers side that still lives in Louisiana. In fact, the LSU coaching staff aren't the only ones trying to get Branch to Baton Rouge.
"My grandma's from there so after I got the offer, she said that she's going to move back and that she really wants to see me play there one day," Branch said. "That's going to play a big role in me ultimately making my decision. So I'm kind of getting recruited from both sides right now."
