USC’s first home game of the season was special with the defense getting a lot of the limelight for a brilliant shut out, but there were athletes on both sides of the ball who shined. We released a a bunch of images I captured from the game against Utah State in a recent Trojans Wire exclusive gallery. Athletes do special things and with photography that second is frozen in time — sometimes they put on quite a show. That’s Zachariah Branch, one of those players who — when he gets the ball — creates that special feeling of expectation and possibility in the stadium other athletes don’t get. Fans know something memorable can happen each time Branch gets the ball and doesn’t fair-catch the ball on a kick return.
We know Zachariah Branch is really fast, and we know he is shifty and elusive, but he is also a high leaper in short-distance situations. It’s not just a matter of speed or stride. He can manipulate, twist, elevate, crouch, and otherwise change his body angle at a moment’s notice in traffic to weave through a pile of bodies on his way to the end zone, or at least a first down. Check out some of the Zachariah Branch defying the laws of physics during the game and a series of shots showing off a run that ends with a hurdle… and a few from the LSU game as well: