Kirby Smart Praises New Superstar UGA Football Wide Receiver

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ATHENS - After an abysmal 2024 season for the Georgia Bulldog wide receivers, head coach Kirby Smart knew he had to make some big changes.

Now it looks like the Dawgs have a possible superstar on their hands in speedy wideout, Zachariah Branch‍. The former five-star prospect and USC Trojan playmaker is still adapting to life in the South, but insiders say he’s coming along more and more through spring practice in Athens.

Speed kills, and that’s exactly what Branch brings to a wide receiver group that desperately needed help this off-season.

“He has extreme quickness, and he's an explosive playmaker that we've got to find ways to get the ball”, Smart said about Branch. “He loves football, and that's the number one quality you've got to have at Georgia. You better love it and be passionate about it. I do believe that. He loves football. He’s still adjusting to speed of practice, tempo of practice, volume of practice. It's all the things that he wanted to come here for, which is the intensity, the competition, the good on good, the grind, let's call it, and the embraces that.”

Branch came from Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas. One of the best high school football programs in the country. He knows what it’s like to play to a specific standard and knows what it takes to play for a winning program.

That’s why Branch came to Georgia. Apparently, it was a pretty easy decision.

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“I came to Georgia because of the culture that Coach Kirby Smart and the coaching staff has established”, Branch told reporters this week. “I feel like it’s a big brotherhood. It’s not just words. Some people just say, ‘Okay, you have to have the bond and the things like that to be a great team.’ But I really do believe that here. They’ve built it into this program year after year. I enjoy being surrounded by a lot of likeminded players just trying to get towards the same goal. It’s something that is really important to me and I feel like once I got into that portal, it was pretty easy to make my decision from there.”

Not only will Branch bring game-changing speed and explosiveness, he’ll also bring a competitive spirit and leadership qualities. While he’s still getting adjusted to his new home, it’s clear Branch is ready to step in and do whatever is needed of him, even if that means taking on a leadership role.

“He's in that process of being a leader”, Smart added. “He's done everything we've asked him to do to get better at that and continues to develop.”

Whether he’s catching passes, scoring touchdowns, or leading the receivers in the locker room, it’s clear Branch will have a significant role this fall. They brought him in for a reason and we’re quickly finding out why.