Starting Badgers’ safety officially out for final games of 2025 season

Wisconsin Badgers Coach Luke Fickell confirmed that starting safety Preston Zachman would indeed not return to play this season after suffering an injury early in the year.

Zachman, a senior from Elysburg, Pennsylvania, stepped up last season for a career-high 58 tackles. The talented defensive back was scheduled to make another jump in production this season, but hopes of doing so were cut short against Alabama.

Ahead of the game against Indiana this past weekend, Zachman received the ‘out for season’ designation on the injury report. This was the first time news had been broken about the health of the safety and whether or not a return was actually going to be possible. Zachman had not returned to football activities since suffering an injury against the Crimson Tide.

Wisconsin Badgers’ Safety Preston Zachman Out for the Season Following Lower Body Injury During Week 3 Clash

Zachman is a major case of what could have been this season for the Badgers given how the safety was able to start the year. The safety recorded two interceptions in both the 2023 and 2024 season and had not been able to surpass that number. Zachman kicked off the year with a two interception performance against Miami (OH), but was again not able to surpass his career-high.

Without the starting safety playing this season, Wisconsin has had one of the weaker secondaries in the Big Ten Conference. Zachman provided much-needed support over the top that prevented the Badgers from getting burnt. Unfortunately, finding someone who can consistently keep the plays in front of themselves has been difficult given how raw the depth at safety is in Madison.