49ers top pick De’Zhaun Stribling could reportedly undergo surgery
San Francisco Chronicle • • sports
Key Points:
- Eric Branch has covered the San Francisco 49ers for the San Francisco Chronicle since 2011, after previously covering the team in 2010 at the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.
- A UCLA graduate, Branch has won nine national APSE awards, including recognition in 2018 for breaking news on the arrest of 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster.
- In 2024, he was named a finalist for the California Sportswriter of the Year award by the National Sports Media Association.
- Branch received a first-place feature writing award in 2023 from the Pro Football Writers of America for a story on team pastor Earl Smith.
- Before covering the 49ers, he reported on a wide range of events and worked at several newspapers, and was recognized in “Best American Sports Writing 2001” for his column on small-town sportswriting.
