Preston Zachman jumps on Wisconsin's offer to become No. 17 in 2020 class

Preston Zachman committed to Wisconsin less than 24 hour after he picked up an offer from the Badgers earlier this month.

But the senior linebacker from Southern Columbia High School in Pennsylvania waited until his unofficial visit this weekend to make his pledge public. Saturday, the two-star prospect publicly become pledge No. 17 for head coach Paul Chryst in the 2020 class.

Zachman, 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds, chose Wisconsin over offers from Air Force, Albany, Army, Colgate, Cornell, Fordham, Holy Cross, Kent State, Lehigh and Robert Morris, among others. He camped in June and visited Madison officially later that month.

"The official visit in the summer was eye-opening," Zachman told BadgerBlitz.com earlier this week. "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 them let me know. So after three weeks, Coach (Mickey) Turner came out my school and offered me in person."

This summer, it was believed that Zachman was being looked at as a future middle linebacker in the eyes of the Badgers' coaching staff. That option is still on the table, but he now falls under the "athlete" umbrella on Wisconsin's commit list.

"Coach Turner told me that they were offering me as an athlete," Zachman said. "It could be inside linebacker, it could be safety or it could be on offense, possibly. I think it's a good thing because it could open up more opportunities for me. I don't know what my best position is but I know the coaches will help me figure that out."

Preston said he is hoping to enroll early at UW, if possible.

"The big question for me going into the visit is if I can enroll early," he said. "I set myself up in high school to do that, but that depends on how many kids they have doing that.

"It's a relief to have made my decision. Most seniors are thinking about college all the time and I don't have to worry about that anymore."