Key Wisconsin Badgers: No. 30 - Safety Preston Zachman

Wisconsin's 2024 football season is right around the corner, so BadgerBlitz.com ranked the top 30 players who we think will be the keys to success for Luke Fickell's squad this year.

Playing time, past performance and positional depth all factored into our staff rankings.

Preston Zachman came to Wisconsin as part of its 2020 recruiting class. The Pennsylvania native was originally a linebacker, and Wisconsin was by far and away his biggest offer. At the time, Zachman helped make up a linebacker class that also included Jordan Turner, Nick Herbig, Kaden Johnson and Malik Reed.

"The official visit in the summer was eye-opening," Zachman told BadgerBlitz.com several days prior to his commitment. "I wasn't sure what to expect, but the whole campus is super nice. In my opinion, the city is the nicest I've ever seen. The atmosphere is great and I loved every one of the coaches. They all tried to communicate with me and build a relationship with me while I was up there. I just felt like it was the right choice for me.

"They told me during the visit that they were really interested in me but that they wanted to see a bit more from my senior season. They were going to watch my first couple games and then let me know. So after three weeks, Coach (Mickey) Turner came out my school and offered me in person."

Zachman isn't the most versatile safety in Alex Grinch's room. He's not the most physical. He's not the best athlete. But he may be the most cerebral player in Wisconsin's defensive backfield, an attribute he attributes to his past life as a high school quarterback.

“I view safety as the quarterback of the defense. You’re kinda running the show in the back end, you see the bigger picture,” he said in a previous interview. “I pride myself on being the smartest player out on the field, being knowledgeable of not only our defense, but then what the offense is doing. What the QB’s thinking, what he’s doing with his eyes. If he’s trying to fool me, if he’s staring someone down.”

That level of attention to detail and football IQ propelled Zachman to the near top of the safety rotation a season ago, as he played the second-most snaps of any Badgers safety in 2023. Zachman managed to parlay that into 49 tackles and two interceptions, logging his first pick in a big-time moment against Ohio State.

Again, Zachman's athleticism isn't going to wow anyone compared to the other safeties in his room. But more often than not, he's in the right place at the right time, in position to make a play. That's a critical intangible quality, one the staff clearly respects considering Zachman's heavy playing time last fall.

Zachman likely won't be a starter when the team releases its first two-deep ahead of Week 1, but he still figures to be a significant aspect of the Badgers' defensive backfield. A season ago, as the new staff tinkered with the lineup to try to find the best schematic fits, four safeties played at least 300 snaps. Entering year two in Mike Tressel's defense, roles should be better defined early on. Still, Zachman proved he was a valuable commodity last season and barring an extraordinary breakout year from, say, Austin Brown, he should see plenty of snaps this fall.

Assuming a top two at safety of Hunter Wohler and Brown, Zachman is a luxury for the Badgers. He's an experienced, intelligent player who can move around the defensive formation. Having that in a third safety gives Grinch some breathing room and the Wisconsin defense plenty of flexibility at the position. Zachman may have a quieter statistical season in 2024, but the depth, football IQ and versatility he provides is significant.

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