University of Georgia Athletics
Branch A ‘Catalyst’ For Georgia’s Offense
November 28, 2025 | Football, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Zachariah Branch is new to the Georgia football team's history. The explosive and dynamic wide receiver from Las Vegas is in his first season as a Bulldog after playing at USC for two years, and it's understandable that he doesn't know the ins and outs of everything UGA.
But Branch does know who Brock Bowers is. And he knows that any time you're passing the former Georgia star tight end, one of the greatest players in program history and already a standout weapon in the NFL as a second-year player, you're doing something special.
Heading into the fourth-ranked Bulldogs' game Friday against No. 23 Georgia Tech in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the 5-foot-10 and 180-pound Branch was tied with Bowers for the second-most receptions in a season in program history, with 63. (Bowers hit that mark in 2022, en route to a second straight national championship.) The Georgia record belongs to former wide receiver Brice Hunter, who caught 76 passes in 1993.
"Knowing that I'm in the same conversation as a guy like Brock Bowers and dudes who have records, it's pretty cool to hear my name up there with them," Branch said earlier this week.
In Georgia's 16-9 win over the Yellow Jackets, when very little came easily for either offense, Branch didn't light up the scoreboard. But he was his usual indispensable self. He caught a game-high five passes for 53 yards, and his 7-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter was the game's only TD.
"He's a catalyst," Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said after the Bulldogs won their program-record eighth straight game over Tech. "I mean, you're looking to get (No. 1) all the touches you can, right? Good things happen when he touches the ball, especially downfield."
As Georgia's regular season comes to an end with an 11-1 record and everything still to play for, from a possible second straight SEC championship to a spot in the College Football Playoff, the numbers show just how valuable Branch has been. His 68 receptions — he's now solidly alone in second-place all-time at Georgia after Friday's performance — aren't just the most on the team, they're more than the next three guys on the team combined. Colbie Young, limited to just seven games this season, and Dillon Bell are tied for second on the team with 23, and London Humphreys is next on the squad with 18.
Branch's 691 receiving yards are more than double anyone else's total, too. And Branch's four receiving touchdowns are tied for the team lead with wide receiver Noah Thomas. Last season, Dominic Lovett was Georgia's top receiver with 59 catches for 607 yards and six touchdowns.
"When I transferred, I didn't know how impactful I was going to be on the team, or how many catches I was going to get, or how many targets and things like that," Branch said Tuesday. "I just came in with the will to get better as a player, as a person, overall, and then be able to just help the team be as successful as possible."
Branch has definitely done that. The Bulldogs might not have won Friday without him. On a day when 190 of Georgia's 260 yards came on the ground, anything it got through the air was pivotal.
With the game tied 3-3 and facing a third-and-10 at the Tech 36-yard line in the second quarter, Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton dumped a short pass off to Branch, who turned it into a 24-yard gain to the 12. A few plays later, on third-and-5 from the 7, Stockton threw to his right to Branch. He caught the ball around the 5, stopped for a second to let a defender go by, and then spun around and ran into the end zone to put the Bulldogs ahead — for good, as it turned out.
The play of the game, Smart said, came in the fourth quarter, with Georgia leading 16-6 but struggling to sustain any drives and burn time off the clock. On third-and-4 at the UGA 26, Stockton had good enough protection to wait for his top target to get open, and then he fired down the middle of the field to a crossing Branch for a 23-yard gain. The drive didn't lead to any points, but the new set of downs after Branch's catch used up some valuable minutes.
"That play on third down was huge in the game, probably the play of the game, to catch that ball that he did over the middle," Smart said.
Branch wasn't the only 2025 transfer that had a big impact Friday. Running back Josh McCray, who came to Georgia from Illinois, pounded out a lot of tough runs on a day when the Bulldogs' ground game was crucial. The powerful McCray — he's listed at 6-foot and 240 pounds — had 13 carries for 43 tough yards, as well as two catches for 9 yards.
Staff Writer
Zachariah Branch is new to the Georgia football team's history. The explosive and dynamic wide receiver from Las Vegas is in his first season as a Bulldog after playing at USC for two years, and it's understandable that he doesn't know the ins and outs of everything UGA.
But Branch does know who Brock Bowers is. And he knows that any time you're passing the former Georgia star tight end, one of the greatest players in program history and already a standout weapon in the NFL as a second-year player, you're doing something special.
Heading into the fourth-ranked Bulldogs' game Friday against No. 23 Georgia Tech in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the 5-foot-10 and 180-pound Branch was tied with Bowers for the second-most receptions in a season in program history, with 63. (Bowers hit that mark in 2022, en route to a second straight national championship.) The Georgia record belongs to former wide receiver Brice Hunter, who caught 76 passes in 1993.
"Knowing that I'm in the same conversation as a guy like Brock Bowers and dudes who have records, it's pretty cool to hear my name up there with them," Branch said earlier this week.
In Georgia's 16-9 win over the Yellow Jackets, when very little came easily for either offense, Branch didn't light up the scoreboard. But he was his usual indispensable self. He caught a game-high five passes for 53 yards, and his 7-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter was the game's only TD.
"He's a catalyst," Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said after the Bulldogs won their program-record eighth straight game over Tech. "I mean, you're looking to get (No. 1) all the touches you can, right? Good things happen when he touches the ball, especially downfield."
As Georgia's regular season comes to an end with an 11-1 record and everything still to play for, from a possible second straight SEC championship to a spot in the College Football Playoff, the numbers show just how valuable Branch has been. His 68 receptions — he's now solidly alone in second-place all-time at Georgia after Friday's performance — aren't just the most on the team, they're more than the next three guys on the team combined. Colbie Young, limited to just seven games this season, and Dillon Bell are tied for second on the team with 23, and London Humphreys is next on the squad with 18.
Branch's 691 receiving yards are more than double anyone else's total, too. And Branch's four receiving touchdowns are tied for the team lead with wide receiver Noah Thomas. Last season, Dominic Lovett was Georgia's top receiver with 59 catches for 607 yards and six touchdowns.
"When I transferred, I didn't know how impactful I was going to be on the team, or how many catches I was going to get, or how many targets and things like that," Branch said Tuesday. "I just came in with the will to get better as a player, as a person, overall, and then be able to just help the team be as successful as possible."
Branch has definitely done that. The Bulldogs might not have won Friday without him. On a day when 190 of Georgia's 260 yards came on the ground, anything it got through the air was pivotal.
With the game tied 3-3 and facing a third-and-10 at the Tech 36-yard line in the second quarter, Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton dumped a short pass off to Branch, who turned it into a 24-yard gain to the 12. A few plays later, on third-and-5 from the 7, Stockton threw to his right to Branch. He caught the ball around the 5, stopped for a second to let a defender go by, and then spun around and ran into the end zone to put the Bulldogs ahead — for good, as it turned out.
The play of the game, Smart said, came in the fourth quarter, with Georgia leading 16-6 but struggling to sustain any drives and burn time off the clock. On third-and-4 at the UGA 26, Stockton had good enough protection to wait for his top target to get open, and then he fired down the middle of the field to a crossing Branch for a 23-yard gain. The drive didn't lead to any points, but the new set of downs after Branch's catch used up some valuable minutes.
"That play on third down was huge in the game, probably the play of the game, to catch that ball that he did over the middle," Smart said.
Branch wasn't the only 2025 transfer that had a big impact Friday. Running back Josh McCray, who came to Georgia from Illinois, pounded out a lot of tough runs on a day when the Bulldogs' ground game was crucial. The powerful McCray — he's listed at 6-foot and 240 pounds — had 13 carries for 43 tough yards, as well as two catches for 9 yards.
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files.
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