With Alabama football’s fall camp in full swing, the staff for Touchdown Alabama Magazine will release a series of player spotlight pieces on starters and marquee contributors for the 2020 football season.
RELATED: 2020 Alabama Player Spotlight: OLB Will Anderson
In these articles, we will dive into the strengths and weaknesses of each player, provide expectations for 2020, give NFL Draft projections for those who are eligible, and conclude with how each one can impact the team.
The next Alabama player and the fifth freshman, who Touchdown Alabama will spotlight is true freshman defensive back, Brian Branch.
Brian Branch
-Position: Defensive Back
-Classification: Freshman
-Height: 6-0
-Weight: 190 pounds
-2019 stats: N/A
Strengths
– Play anticipation
– Has great ball skills
– Dangerous in the return game
– Opportunist
– Elusive with football in his hands
Summary: Brian Branch is a natural play maker, who has a sense for where the football is going.
Elite level anticipation allows him to break on the football with great speed. This combined with his ability to be elusive with the football in his hands opens the door for him to turn turnovers into scoring opportunities. Branch’s elusiveness was put on display throughout his time at Sandy Creek High School as he played on both sides of the football, and was dangerous as a punt and kick returner.
The Georgia product’s ball skills also played a huge role in his success during his high school football career and they should translate to the collegiate level. He attacks the football at the highest point and can make some acrobatic catches while in the air. However, Branch’s biggest strength may be his opportunistic playing style.
He rarely misses out on an opportunity to take away the football from the offense by forcing a fumble or by picking off a pass. Branch also has a tendency to force turnovers in jaw-dropping fashion.
RELATED: Brian Branch Recruiting Profile
Weaknesses
– Effective Tackling
Summary: Branch has the tools to be an elite play maker in the secondary and if he can consistently make effective and secure tackles, he will have an opportunity to be a complete difference maker, who can defend both the pass and run while playing in the secondary. This will be vital for him during his time in the SEC as running backs in this conference tend to carry more weight and run with power.
Expectations for 2020 season
Branch has an opportunity to play early within the Crimson Tide’s secondary as Nick Saban and company will most likely have to depend on some new faces within the secondary this season. Saban has praised Branch by calling him a freshman, who has ‘the potential to play winning football’ during fall camp. Junior wide receiver, Jaylen Waddle, has also had some good things to say about Branch as he referred to him as someone, ‘who will be a household name in Tuscaloosa.’ Branch is expected to see some playing time in Alabama’s secondary and he could be used as a punt or kick returner at some point.
NFL Draft 2021 projections
Not Eligible
Conclusion
There are some players, who just have a knack for being around the football. Branch is one of those players and only time will tell how fast he can make an impact for the Crimson Tide.
RELATED: 2020 Player Spotlight: QB Mac Jones
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Justin Smith is a Scouting/Recruiting analyst for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via @Jdsmith31Smith
