Breaking down this 2026 'freakishly athletic' Wisconsin Badgers commit

Zachary Taylor's responsibilities in the secondary have evolved over time for Katy Jordan High School in Texas, which should help him with once he arrives in Madison.

Taylor, who announced June 13 his commitment to the University of Wisconsin football program, locked down man-to-man coverage as a sophomore cornerback sophomore, according to Katy Jordan defensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator Anthony Moore. The Warriors then started to utilize Taylor at safety as a junior when the team worked in zone concepts so he could utilize his ball-hawking skills.

Moore's plan for Taylor's senior season is to use him "a lot more at safety" as the recruit continues to develop.

"He's just so freakishly athletic and just very raw, but he's really good," Moore said. "But he just has a little football savviness to him. So it's either, 'Hey Zach, go over there and lock down their No. 1 receiver,' or, 'Hey, Zach, this week we need you to play in the box.'

"His willingness to play it all, and his football IQ to be able to learn multiple game plans within a week. So like this year, he had to learn the corner game plan, then he had to learn the free safety game plan and our box safety game plan all in one week. So we're just trying to use him to maximize all his potential here."

The versatility of Taylor, who lists himself at 6-foot-2 and 180 pounds on social media, bodes well for what's ahead in working with Wisconsin safeties coach Jack Cooper and within the Badgers' secondary.

"They see him as like a field-side safety, to be able to guard those slot receivers or the receivers to the field, but also be able to make tackles in the open field, which I think that's his strong suit," Moore said. "And we also talked about Zach has the frame to where, if he needs to be 205 pounds, it'd be that and I don't think it'll slow him down at all."

NFL, sprinter speed is a strength for Taylor

The first thing that stands out about Taylor from the outside looking in is his blazing speed on the track, which according to Athletic.net, he ran a 10.52 100-meter dash in April. But he’s also tweeted that he recorded a 4.39 40-yard dash.