The Badgers are going for projection and athleticism at a key position.
The Wisconsin Badgers secured another defensive commitment over the weekend, this time from three-star Texas safety Zachary Taylor.
Taylor, a versatile defensive back who stands 6’1, 185 pounds, has experience at both cornerback and safety, but is being projected to the latter position for the Badgers.
From the initial outlook, he seems like another defensive back Wisconsin would target with good size and a solid offer list that included nearly two dozen teams. But, Taylor’s commitment is much deeper than that.
In fact, it’s showing a change in recruiting for the Badgers when it comes to the safety position, continuing a trend from the 2025 class: looking for athletes that project well to the next level.
A lot of Wisconsin’s 2026 class has been based on projection, which isn’t a bad process given that the group isn’t seen as strong as previous years nationally.
But, the Badgers have especially applied that process to the safety position, where they landed Grant Dean and Luke Emmerich a year ago. Both of those recruitments were intriguing, as Dean popped immediately after earning an offer from the in-state school, while Emmerich was an early commit as well, choosing Wisconsin over the in-state Minnesota Golden Gophers.
Both players were elite athletes, blowing up on the recruiting trail after posting strong track numbers. Wisconsin saw athletes that projected well to the college level with some physicality to them for the safety position.
In Taylor, Wisconsin has a similar profile: a track athlete who can be physical.
The Texas native has clocked a 4.39 40-yard dash, while running a 10.51 and a 10.70 100-meter dash, according to MileSplit. Now, Taylor is seen as a more refined prospect from a football perspective, as he has the cornerback reps as well.
But, the thought process is similar: the athletic traits are too good to pass up on, and the coaching staff is known for development.
Wisconsin is still targeting a number of safeties in the 2026 class, and perhaps the other will have a different profile. However, they’re clearly looking for good athletes at the safety position, and got another one with Taylor in the current cycle.