USC Football: Trojans Freshman Phenom Earns Spot on ESPN Midseason All-American Team

An impressive debut campaign.

USC special teams extraordinaire Zachariah Branch missed the past two games with injury but returned with a bang in Week 7 against the Fighting Irish. 

Notre Dame may have gotten the better of the Trojans in their most recent matchup but the dynamic returner still made a key impact on the game. 

Branch has turned plenty of heads with his devastating speed and ESPN recently recognized them for their midseason All-American team across college football. 

Returner:

Zachariah Branch

, USC

After missing two games with an injury, Branch returned to the lineup for USC's 48-20 loss at Notre Dame. In his first four games, the true freshman returned both a kickoff and a punt for touchdowns. He's averaging more than 24 yards a return on both punts and kickoffs. Branch, who also has two receiving touchdowns this season, didn't score against Notre Dame but did have a 60-yard punt return. 

via Chris Low, ESPN

Branch's quarterback, junior Caleb Williams, didn't quite make the cut thanks in large part to his poor showing against the Irish to drop USC's first game of the season. 

The now-18th-ranked Trojans still boast Branch's great talents and the freshman made some early headlines thanks to his huge plays on special teams. 

Even though many of Branch's highlights came against lackluster competition he still garnered national attention for his ability to turn on the jets at a moment's notice. 

Branch hasn't seen much involvement in the traditional passing game but his contributions to the return game have been solid when he's been healthy. 

Despite being a game-time call for the Notre Dame contest, Branch showed just what he can do when he's healthy for a special teams unit in limited action. 

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