Pick-six was nice, but Detroit Lions' Brian Branch has bigger goal: Making Hall of Fame
Brian Branch's jersey is headed to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and the Detroit Lions rookie is hoping that he'll be worthy enough to one day have a bust to go with it.
"It’s big, to have my jersey in the Hall of Fame," Branch told the Free Press on Thursday. "It’s there with the greats and, shoot, hopefully one day, that’s the plan, hopefully one day I can myself be in the Hall of Fame."
A second-round pick out of Alabama, Branch made three tackles and returned an interception 50 yards for a touchdown in the Lions' season-opening 21-20 win over the Kansas City Chiefs last week.
Branch is the first NFL player to return an interception 50 or more yards for a touchdown in his first game since Marques Anderson of the Green Bay Packers in 2002, and the fifth Lions rookie ever with a pick six.
One of the others, Lem Barney, is enshrined in Canton.
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Branch said the Hall of Fame reached out to the Lions this week to inquire about displaying his jersey. He agreed to loan it to the Hall through the end of the season, but wanted to keep the jersey as a memento of his NFL debut.
Branch did not keep the ball from his pick-six — he dropped it in the end zone after crossing the goal line and it didn't dawn on him to pick it up until it was too late — but was given another game ball that the team will have painted to mark the occasion.
He said he has dreamed of being in the Hall of Fame ever since his mom bought him his first football jersey when he was about 7 years old.
"I’m blessed to just make it (to the NFL)," Branch said. "But my overall end goal is that."
Branch has quickly established himself as a key player in the Lions secondary. He won the starting slot cornerback in training camp and was so good he altered the team's plans for how it initially intended to construct its secondary.
C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who signed to play slot cornerback after tying for the NFL lead in interceptions last season but has since taken Tracy Walker's job as a starting safety, said Branch is "better than me" already, and Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn cut short a question about Branch during his weekly media session Thursday.
"You want me to continue to say he’s a good player?" Glenn said. "How many times do I have to say that?"
Asked how he makes sure Branch builds off his debut, Glenn said that won't be a problem for the humble rookie.
"Have you talked to that player?" he said. "That should tell you everything about him. I don’t think that’s a worry. Well, I know it’s not a worry. This guy’s come from a great program and he’s made a lot of plays on the biggest stage that he can be in. He made a pick-six, man. He’s on to the next.”
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions' Brian Branch's jersey will be displayed at Hall of Fame
