The highly rated safety took an official visit with the Buckeyes in early June.
Las Vegas Bishop Gorman four-star safety Zion Branch included Ohio State in a loaded top five on Saturday evening alongside Alabama, Clemson, Oklahoma and USC.
The 6-foot-3 and 190-pound Branch, who is considered the fourth-best safety and No. 49 prospect overall in the class of 2022, landed an offer from head coach Ryan Day, defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs and secondary coach Matt Barnes during a virtual visit in May 2020.
Branch then took an official visit with the Buckeyes over the weekend of June 4-6, showing just how much of a priority he is for the staff. The visit, which marked his first time in Columbus, seemingly pushed the program to the forefront of his recruitment.
There was a belief that Branch – who was joined on the trip by his parents and brother, 2023 four-star wide receiver Zachariah Branch – could commit soon thereafter. But he continued to stick with his official visit schedule instead, taking trips to Oklahoma on June 18-20 and USC on June 25-27.
Branch, who also has official visits set for Alabama on Nov. 5-7 and Clemson on Nov. 12-14, plans to announce his college decision at the Under Armour All-America Game in early January. Still, you have to feel good about the Buckeyes' chances this far out.
Ohio State already has one safety in the fold in Seffner (Fla.) Armwood three-star Kye Stokes but hope to take two more this cycle. Branch and Altoona (Iowa) Southeast Polk four-star Xavier Nwankpa are at the top of the list, and the idea is that they’ll all play separate positions within the defense, with Branch as the free safety, Stokes as the cover safety and Nwankpa at the Bullet.
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