2022 – Saf – Zion Branch – Bishop Gorman, NV – 6’2.5 / 195
247 Rank: National - 53 / Saf - 2 / NV – 4
Commitment – Undecided
Name/Location/Date/Time of film for evaluation – Zion Branch Game Highlights 1 & 2 – 247 – 2m 0sec
Physical Attributes – Zion has the measurable you like to see at the power 5 level. He is very tall and long. He has excellent balance and body control and excellent feet and twitch for size. He runs well and shows to have excellent overall athletic ability. What excites me is what he will become when he grows into his body. My experience tells me he will grow into an outside linebacker when it is all said and done. Possibly projected at 6’3 235lb athlete, who can run, cover and tackle. Those types are bodies are heavily relied upon and hard to come by to face the spread offenses of today. When he grows into his body, where ever he ends up, position wise, he will be a force to be reckoned with.
Position Specific Skills – Limited exposure to evaluate. What I can see off the film, as a safety, is a twitch, long levered athlete who has excellent balance and body control and athletic ability, especially for his size. He looks to be able to run well, good catch up speed, which could translate into playing the deep half with range and translate into being able to play man to man coverage. Zion looks to be a a tough kid
Overall – Off the 7v7 short film on his 247 page, Zion looks like an impressive athlete that has a high ceiling due to his size, to speed, to athleticism ratio. Zion could possibly project to a big safety or an outside linebacker at the next level. Like most players, his body and his growth will tell the story. Either way, Zion has potential to be a problem that offenses will have to deal with. Can cover, can run, can play in space, can change direction, is twitchy, is long and is tough. I would like to see more film to give my evaluation a thicker stamp but with what I have I am comfortable saying that Zion has a chance to be a really good, power 5 player as he develops his skill and as he grows into his body.
Paul GonnellaPaul is the CEO and Co-Founder of THE PROCESS Football Recruiting. His 10 years of experience as the Director of Player Personnel at Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina, Miami, Purdue, South Florida, and Memphis make Paul one of the best evaluators in the country.
