Sometimes, recruiting wins feel like stealing one. Sometimes, they remind you how fragile this whole process can be. The Wisconsin football team experienced both the highs and lows this summer with Zachary Taylor.
Taylor, a 2026 safety out of Katy Jordan High School in Texas, was one of the more intriguing names in the Badgers’ recruiting class. He was a 3-star prospect and the No. 560 player nationally, according to the Composite, and held offers from Iowa, Houston, West Virginia, and Texas Tech. On paper, he wasn’t supposed to leave Texas. And yet, after an official visit to Madison, he surprised a lot of people by committing to UW.
Taylor checked every box you’d want on paper for Luke Fickell and his coaching staff to develop: 6-foot-1, 180 pounds, 4.43 speed, a 10-foot-5 broad jump, and the versatility to line up all over the defensive backfield, whether at safety, corner, or even nickel.
Add in 60 total tackles, 12 pass breakups, three TFLs, a pick-six, and First Team All-District recognition as a junior, and you understand why Badgers safeties coach Jack Cooper prioritized him to fill a scholarship spot.
Wisconsin sold Taylor not just on football, but on the Badgers’ culture, family feel, academics, and the long-term vision. For a while, it worked. But recruiting, especially in the NIL era, is never on autopilot. On July 18, Taylor announced his decommitment, flipping from Wisconsin to TCU.
“After a lot of thinking and talking over with family and friends, I will be decommitting from the University of Wisconsin, and taking my talents to Texas Christian University,” Taylor wrote. “I want to thank my coaches, god, family, and my support system who helped guide me through this difficult process and point me in the right direction. I am very excited for this next step in my life and am looking forward to pursuing my dreams at TCU!! Go frogs🐸.”
Behind the scenes, this was about more than football. What once felt adventurous — leaving Texas for Wisconsin — began to carry more weight. The distance, the pull of home, the reality of moving across the country as an 18-year-old. It’s a lot for anyone to process. In the end, staying closer to home felt like the right move for Taylor, and it’s a decision that deserves understanding and grace from the Badgers fanbase.
But let’s call a spade a spade: it’s a tough loss for Wisconsin’s 2026 class, which now sits at 14 commits and, notably, without a safety. Taylor was a player the staff long viewed as a top target at the position.
Sure, there are still senior evaluations ahead, and in today’s game, there’s always the transfer portal to help supplement a position group. But let’s be honest, that’s a gamble too. There’s just no way to sugarcoat the fact that this cycle hasn’t been the strongest showing thus far for Jack Cooper, who took over the room full-time this offseason after Alex Grinch’s departure to take the defensive coordinator job at UCF.
Taylor was a big win, but with him now off the board, the reality is the Badgers have effectively missed on every top target they’ve had on campus at the position in the 2026 recruiting class. Now, the Badgers staff will have to regroup, looking to flip late-cycle prospects, hit on senior evaluations, or find better solutions through the portal. That’s the nature of modern recruiting. But no matter how you spin it, this was a setback Wisconsin didn’t need at a position they can’t afford to whiff on.
For all the frustrations about this class — the lack of high-end talent compared to the past two cycles, the struggles to keep a wall around Wisconsin and land the top in-state prospects — it’s worth acknowledging the excellent work the staff has still done, particularly on the offensive side of the ball, even if the safety room now has a glaring vacancy.
On offense, the Badgers still hold commitments from quarterback Ryan Hopkins; running back Amari Latimer; wide receivers Jayden Petit, Zion Legree, and Tayshon Bardo; tight ends Jack Sievers and Jack Janda; and offensive linemen Benjamin Novak and Maddox Cochrane. Defensively, the class includes cornerback Carsen Eloms; linebackers Aden Reeder and Ben Wenzel; and defensive linemen Djidjou Bah and Arthur Scott.
It’s a solid foundation, no doubt, but now the task for Fickell and his staff is to make sure the back end of the defense gets the attention it needs. Because with Taylor gone, the Badgers are back on the hunt for the right player to anchor the safety room in this cycle to groom for the future. And in today’s world, the margin for error isn’t what it used to be.
Recruiting wins are never final until ink hits paper. That’s the reality of building in an era where culture, relationships, geography, and life off the field all collide. Taylor’s flip is proof of that. And now, Wisconsin must pivot to find another talented option that buys into the football program.
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