The Wisconsin Badgers have entered into a critical yet exciting transition, as plenty of roster spots have churned for this football team. Amidst the transfer portal chaos, the Badgers did find a bit of stability with the return of one of their players, which proved to be an important piece on the defense. Preston Zachman announced via social media that he would return for his sixth and final year of eligibility in Madison.
Jobs not finished pic.twitter.com/3daKxVcq3L
— Preston Zachman (@ZachmanPreston) December 17, 2024
Preston Zachman Returns to the Wisconsin Badgers
The NCAA rules are a bit complicated. Add in the extra year from COVID-19 that’s still in effect, and it becomes even more confusing. That being said, how were the Badgers able to bring back Zachman for another season?
Zachman was listed as a redshirt senior this past season. Since he lost both the 2020 and 2021 seasons, he still has one final season of eligibility left to use. The 6-foot-1 safety could have gone to the NFL Draft or transferred as many other Wisconsin Badgers players have done, but Zachman chose to stay.
The Fit for the Wisconsin Badgers
The former three-star recruit out of Pennsylvania chose the Wisconsin Badgers after receiving a bit of attention prior to graduating in 2020. After his season in 2022, he emerged as a steady presence for the Badgers on defense and will play that role one final time in 2025.
With the underperformance by the Badgers in 2024, the team is being forced to make wholesale changes to the roster. The defense has lost the likes of safety Kamo’i Latu, safety Braedyn Moore, CB Jace Arnold, CB Amare Snowden, and plenty of other names on the defensive line.
The only holdover at the Safety position was going to be Austin Brown, and there were going to be plenty of questions at the position, even with the addition of Matthew Traynor from Richmond via the transfer portal.
Now, Zachman will give the Badgers a familiar, steady voice in that room, and they hope he can repeat his success of 2024. All told, he provided 58 tackles with two interceptions and six pass deflections for the Wisconsin Badgers in 2024.
With the departure of much of the defense and Hunter Wohler, the Wisconsin Badgers will be looking for that consistent presence to help the defense, and they may have it with the return of Zachman.
