ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia landed two of the top players in the transfer portal with brothers Zachariah and Zion Branch announcing they would leave Southern California and join the Bulldogs.
Zacharia and Zion announced their decisions on social media Sunday. Both will have two seasons of eligibility.
The Bulldogs also appear to have lost third-string quarterback Jaden Rashada, ESPN reported. Rashada's next school would be his fourth. He originally signed with Florida in 2022 but left after two months and filed a lawsuit against coach Billy Napier and a booster last May for allegedly reneging on a seven-figure NIL package. He played at Arizona State in 2023 and then moved to Georgia, where he took no game snaps.
Malachi Nelson, who backed up quarterback Maddux Madsen at Boise State, has transferred to UTEP, the school announced Monday. Nelson was one of the top recruits in the nation in 2023 and originally signed with Southern California. He appeared in one game for the Trojans and transferred to Boise State, where he appeared in three games this season.
Zacharia Branch, a receiver, was a five-star recruit out of the brothers’ hometown of Las Vegas and made 78 catches for 823 yards and three touchdowns over his first two seasons at USC. He struggled with drops and never emerged as the elite wideout many expected in USC coach Lincoln Riley’s offense. He was similarly ineffective as a punt returner, managing just 74 yards on returns this season.
Zion, a safety, has struggled with injuries since signing with the Trojans in 2022. He made a combined 41 tackles over the past two seasons after missing the entire 2022 campaign with a lower-body injury.
USC has lost many of the top recruits landed by Riley in his first three seasons to the transfer portal. Zachariah Branch, Duce Robinson and Penn State commit Kyron Hudson have already entered the portal from the Trojans’ current group of receivers, which has been one of USC’s least productive groups in the 21st century.
