Stanford offers elite 2022 Bishop Gorman safety

Safeties the size of linebackers are rare nowadays in the modern era of throw a flag and review it afterward. But Bishop Gorman junior Zion Branch makes it work and Stanford offered Saturday — bringing his scholarship offer total to 35 for the No. 39 overall recruit.

Branch sent a direct message to Cardinal Sports Report Sunday about his reaction to the offer:

"My first time speaking with Coach (Duane) Akina was on August 21st. I am very interested in Stanford. My family and I had a great zoom meeting yesterday with Coach Akina. They are planning a virtual visit with us within the next few weeks. As far as the call yesterday with Coach Akina, I liked his coaching style and experience; that really stood out to me."

He updated Adam Gorney a month ago about his recruiting process and all of the programs you'd expect to be working hard to get his commitment are involved:

“It’s been picking up a lot,” Branch said. “The main schools showing interest are Oklahoma, I’ve heard from Ohio State, USC a lot, I talk to coach (Clay) Helton basically weekly and then Texas a lot and definitely Arizona State.”

According to Maxpreps, he had 29 tackles, five interceptions, one pass deflection and one fumble recovery. He had 38 tackles and one interception his freshman season.