5′9″ · 180 lb · Hopkins, SC · Itawamba C.C.
Seen from behind the quarterback; numbers are yards past the line of scrimmage. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed. Of his catches with a spot in the play text: left 8, middle 6, right 14.
Nate Branch
Wins underneath on volume and route precision. One game to point at: 87 receiving yards and 9 receptions against NC State — Week 4, 2026.
328 receiving yards · 30 catches · 0 receiving TD
Play style
Runs precise routes in tight quarters. Volume player who keeps chains moving.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
No outlet on our list has written about him by name this season.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | App State | 30 | 328 | 10.9 | 0 |
| Career | 30 | 328 | 10.9 | 0 |
| Season | Team | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | App State | 3 | 38 |
| Career | 3 | 38 |
Last game (Wk 8): 73 receiving yards, 6 catches.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 7 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 55-3vs Maine | 5 | 55 | 11.0 | 0 | 23 | |
| Wk 2 | W 27-24@ East Carolina | 2 | 45 | 22.5 | 0 | 27 | |
| Wk 3 | W 26-21vs Charlotte | 4 | 16 | 4.0 | 0 | 12 | |
| Wk 4 | L 31-41@ NC State | 9 | 87 | 9.7 | 0 | 30 | Season-high 87 yds |
| Wk 6 | L 3-10vs Old Dominion | 1 | -5 | -5.0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 35-32@ Coastal Carolina | 3 | 57 | 19.0 | 0 | 45 | |
| Wk 8 | W 34-31vs James Madison | 6 | 73 | 12.2 | 0 | 25 | |
| Total | 30 | 328 | 10.9 | 0 | 45 |
Oct. 22 · W 34-31 vs James Madison, play by play
6 catches for 73 yards. App State threw to him on 8 of its 44 passes.
No game thread archived for this game yet.
13-yard catch on 3rd and 3. Third quarter, down 14-10. Converted.
25-yard catch. Fourth quarter, down 24-21.
Incomplete on 3rd and 5. Fourth quarter, down 24-21. Broken up by James Madison’s K. Flowe.
3 catches for 57 yards. App State threw to him on 3 of its 26 passes. All of it came before halftime of a 35-32 win.
45-yard catch on 3rd and 6. First quarter, tied 7-7. Converted.
Seen from behind the quarterback; numbers are yards past the line of scrimmage. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
1 catch for -5 yards.
Not drawn: the play-by-play has 1 catch for 5 yards, the box score 1 for -5, so no play is placed until they agree.
A big game: 9 catches for 87 yards, his most this season. App State threw to him on 12 of its 39 passes.
30-yard catch. Second quarter, down 28-7.
Incomplete on 4th and 2. Fourth quarter, down 38-31. Turnover on downs. Broken up by NC State’s J. Vick.
Seen from behind the quarterback; numbers are yards past the line of scrimmage. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
4 catches for 16 yards. App State threw to him on 4 of its 43 passes.
12-yard catch. Third quarter, up 13-7.
Seen from behind the quarterback; numbers are yards past the line of scrimmage. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
2 catches for 45 yards. App State threw to him on 6 of its 28 passes.
No game thread archived for this game yet.
Incomplete on 3rd and 15. First quarter, tied 0-0.
27-yard catch on 3rd and 12. Third quarter, up 27-17. Converted.
Seen from behind the quarterback; numbers are yards past the line of scrimmage. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
5 catches for 55 yards. App State threw to him on 5 of its 33 passes.
No game thread archived for this game yet.
23-yard catch. Second quarter, up 10-0.
Seen from behind the quarterback; numbers are yards past the line of scrimmage. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
Week 8 · 2026
W 34-31
6 rec · 73 yds
Edged out James Madison at home in a shootout.
With J. Dunn — 40.5 yards per punt · 8 punts · 55 long · M. Singleton — 271 yds · 2 TD · 0 INT
The plays that mattered most
145th in receiving yards, among all 1,995 FBS players with a receiving row this season, any position
Conference ranks count every player in the conference with a row in that stat, any position. Career ranks count current FBS players, from the games in our log.
Ratings of the games shown run from -25 to +12 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Receiver profile · Targets, catch rate, and throw depth
How often he's targeted, and how well it works
Targets
4319% of team targetsCatch rate
72%31 of 43 targetsBehind LOS · Negative air yds
Short · 0–9 air yds
Middle · 10–19 air yds
Deep · 20+ air yds
72% catch rate on 43 targets · 19% of the team's targets · 50% catch rate on 6 deep targets (20+ air yds).
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 7 games
Home vs Road
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 4.0 | 34.8 | 5.5 | 0.0 |
| Road3g | 4.7 | 63.0 | 17.1 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 4.0 | 42.5 | 10.2 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 6.0 | 73.0 | 12.2 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Dowell Loggains
Pass share
49.9%
251 pass / 252 run
Plays / game
71.9
7 games
Team sack rate
4.2%
263 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2026
About as many catches a game as a typical FBS receiver who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #133 at the position.
His career
Sun Belt Conference
