USC Football: Star NFL WR Reached Out to Zachariah Branch After Impressive Debut

Branch getting love from Odell Beckham Jr.

Zachariah Branch's rise to fame keeps increasing as he is now hopping on phone calls with NFL superstars. 

Following his Week 0 performance that had everyone talking about him, Branch received a call from Ravens' wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. 

The call with the NFL veteran was a couple of months in the making. Branch shot his shot in the DM's months ago but never heard anything from Beckham until this week.

USC freshman phenom Zachariah Branch said he DM’d Odell Beckham Jr. a couple months back and never received a response — until he broke out Saturday.

Branch: “He just said, ‘Keep it up, keep going.’ And I was like, ‘That’s crazy you actually responded.’”

— Luca Evans (@bylucaevans) August 31, 2023

Branch made headlines this week after he scored two touchdowns in his college debut. 

The five-star recruit out of high school showed his ability to find the end zone on offense and special teams. 

Branch started his scoring in the second half of Saturday's game against San Jose State. USC started off the third quarter with a 25-yard connection from Caleb Williams to Branch for its fifth touchdown of the day. 

The scoring wouldn't stop for Branch in the third quarter. Branch returned a 96-yard kickoff for a touchdown after the Spartans made it a two-possession game. 

In his debut, Branch finished with four receptions for 58 yards and a run for 12 yards. 

On the special teams side, he racked up 66 yards on three punt returns and scored in his only opportunity on kickoffs. 

Branch will have to keep building off the hype he's created for himself this season. His next test to show that last week's game was not a fluke will be this Saturday against Nevada.