During his press conference on Thursday, USC Football head coach Lincoln Riley was asked about the progress of three young wide receivers on his team; Makai Lemon, Ja’Kobi Lane, and Zachariah Branch. All of which are true sophomores.
USC Football’s Three Sophomore Wide Receivers
“Those guys are all progressing. They’re doing a good job.” Riley said, “I don’t love giving just ‘State of the Unions’ on people after a couple of games. They’ve all done some good things. They’ve all had a few plays that you’d love to have back but I think largely has been positive. I think they’re improving.
Lemon has caught four passes for 45 yards and a touchdown. Lane also has a touchdown catch, one of his five, picking 66 yards. Branch leads all Trojans receivers with 11 targets and has eight catches for 75 yards. While he has the team’s second-most catches, he only has the fourth-most yards, behind Lake McRee,
Kyron Hudson, and Kyle Ford.
This has a lot to do with how USC football is using the 5-foot-10, 175-pound uber-athletic speedster. His average depth of target is actually less than zero yards, meaning he is being targeted behind the line of scrimmage. He, by far, has the Trojans’ lowest ADOT among wide receivers.
Riley was asked specifically if they planned to get Branch more downfield targets.
“I think he’s definitely improved. He’s, I think, now become a more complete player.” Riley said “I think he has a better grasp of what we’re doing offensively. I think he’s improved his route running, his defensive understanding, understanding of our blocking game. I mean there’s just there’s so much that goes into it but I think no question he’s improved and he’s a a tremendous weapon for him and I’m sure we’ll try to find some different ways to use him.”
