USC's Zachariah Branch sees unexpected surge in NIL valuation and social media following after spectacular Saturday win: Reports

Zachariah Branch made a splash during USC Trojan's big 56-28 win against San Jose State in their season opener. A night that was supposed to be about Heisman holder Caleb Williams ended up being about Branch.

Branch was electric at wide receiver position and ended the game with two touchdowns. He had a thrilling 96-yard kickoff return while he also had a 25-yard touchdown from William's pass.

He finished the game with 232 all-purpose yards and was the first USC freshman to return a kickoff for a touchdown in a decade. He imitated global soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo's 'siuu' celebration after scoring which only earned him more attention.

He explained why he pulled off the famous celebration afterward.

"I got into the game "FIFA" and I had scored a goal one time, and I just did the celebration, and I was like, 'That's pretty cool.' I've been playing that for like two months, and I was waiting for the opportunity to come. And I was like, 'When I go like this, I'm raging to the crowd. So, I did it.'"

Branch also had an unintentional rise in his NIL stock. His NIL valuation now stands at $658,000 which places him No. 46 among college football players and No. 62 overall on the NIL 100 valuation list.

Zachariah Branch also saw a slew of new followers on his Instagram account with 9,000 gained after the game for a total of 186,000.

Branch, who attended Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas and was extensively recruited, committed to USC in 2022, following in the footsteps of his brother Zion Branch, who plays safety for the Trojans.

His coach, Lincoln Riley was full of praise for him after the game.

"I thought he did a good job not trying to do too much, which guys in their first game sometimes will do. I thought his patience, especially on the return, you saw a lot of patience there which was key."

USC's Zachariah Branch and the Trojans' stellar recruitment

Zachariah Branch was the No. 1 receiver and No. 7 overall player in the class of 2023 according to 247Sports and followed a trend of stellar recruitment by the Trojans under Lincoln Riley.

Talented linebacker Eli Newby of the class of 2024 was added to the recruitment of five-star quarterback Malachi Nelson of the class of 2023. A few weeks ago, USC beat Alabama and Georgia to the signature of 2026 five-star prospect Julian Lewis from Carrollton High.

Coach Lincoln Riley is leading the recruitment revolution in college football and making the Trojan's football program an attractive destination once again.