Wisconsin football confident in veteran starters at safety, emerging depth
The Wisconsin football safety room blends proven starters with young depth, setting the Badgers up well for the grind of the 2025 season.
The Wisconsin football team's defense is all but set on the back end with veterans Preston Zachman and Austin Brown, one of the most experienced safety tandems in the Big Ten. Zachman logged 753 defensive snaps in 2024, the most on the team, while Brown added another 459.
Between them, they bring a veteran’s presence and proven production to a defense that will need leadership after losing Hunter Wohler to the NFL.
"Preston and AB have been around, but at the same time, there are no jobs given in our defense, and I think they embrace that," Jack Cooper told reporters. "They want the competition... they’re doing a good job teaching the other guys.
"As far as understanding the defense, they’re just doing a better job of selling the message from Coach Tressel and Coach Fickell as well. They’re embracing this thing, and they believe in what we do. It’s so much more powerful when it’s from your players. And that’s what they’ve been doing better than anything, selling what we’re doing to the guys. The modern-day kid, you’ve got to sell what you’re doing. And they do a phenomenal job of that."
But the conversation in fall camp hasn’t just been about the starters. The Badgers' second-team safeties, both newcomers from the transfer portal, are playing well enough that coaches are feeling like they will need to find them some snaps this fall. Not only will that help keep everyone fresh, but it could also speed up the development of a pair of playmakers who look capable of impacting games from the jump if they're put in the right spots.
Matt Jung: The ballhawk from Neenah
Neenah (Wis.) native Matt Jung arrived from Division III Bethel with a reputation for finding the football, and the video game numbers to back it up. A D3 First Team All-America selection and Cliff Harris Award winner, Jung racked up 181 total tackles, 15.0 tackles for loss, 16 interceptions, six of which he returned for touchdowns, and 3.5 sacks in just 25 games.
That same nose for the ball that made him a star at Bethel has already shown up in Madison, where he’s been consistently around the ball throughout fall camp. Safeties coach Jack Cooper believes that’s no accident, crediting Jung’s strong instincts and relentless preparation.
“He’s a talented, disciplined football player who works at it,” Cooper said. “I think he’s just really ingratiated himself in the culture, and he’s doing a good job. He’s attacking the football, and you see that from his film at Bethel and even back to high school at Neenah. He’s doing a really good job for us. He’s got to keep going, and we just got to get him ready.”
Coach Cooper also pointed to the redshirt junior's overall feel for the game and his knack for anticipating routes before they develop as traits that separate Jung from most young defensive backs.
“He’s got natural football IQ,” Cooper continued. “I think he does a really good job anticipating stuff, and he knows when routes are building and how things are developing, whether it’s formationally, pre-snap, or post-snap. He’s doing a really good job with that. He’s just got a lot of natural football knack, and we’ve got to keep using that as a strength for him.”
While Jung looks like a strong candidate to become a core special-teams player right away, his instincts, playmaking ability, and physicality might force the staff to find him defensive reps, even in a crowded safety room.
Matthew Traynor: The FCS standout
The other half of Wisconsin’s second-team safety tandem is Matthew Traynor, a redshirt freshman transfer from Richmond who wasted little time making an impact at the FCS level.
In 2024, Traynor racked up 69 total tackles (52 solo), 4.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions, and three pass breakups in 13 games. He didn’t start until Week 5, but played 628 snaps and was named the Coastal Athletic Association’s Defensive Rookie of the Year. He also finished as a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award, given annually to the top freshman in the FCS.
Traynor’s versatility makes him a valuable piece in Wisconsin’s secondary. Last season, he played 355 snaps in the box and another 225 as a deep safety, bringing a physical, throwback style to the position. Coach Cooper says that mindset fits the Wisconsin Badgers defense perfectly.
“He’s got a good nastiness to him, tenacity to him,” Cooper said. “He’s a little bit of a throwback guy. I’ve got to pull him back a little bit as far as some of the aggressiveness in the way he plays. But he definitely brings a Big Ten toughness, a Wisconsin Badger toughness. He’s our type of guy. He’s an effort-and-attitude, tough, nasty, disciplined type of dude. That’s what he brings to the room. He’s got great energy every single day. He’s always ready to go. That's what he's been bringing more than anything."
The physicality and energy that made Traynor a breakout player at Richmond appear to have already translated to some degree at Wisconsin. While he’s still new to the program, the Badgers see a player who can contribute right away, not just as a depth piece, but as someone who embodies the toughness and discipline they want in their defense.
Freshman showing flashes
While Jung and Traynor are pushing for more immediate roles behind Zachman and Brown, Wisconsin’s depth doesn’t stop there.
True freshmen Grant Dean and Luke Emmerich, both early enrollees who went through spring practice, have already made plays that turned heads. Their physical tools and instincts hint at future playmaking potential, and the experience they’re getting now will only accelerate their development.
For Cooper, their fall camp has been as much about acclimating to the pace and demands of college football as it has been about making plays.
“Yeah, it’s still the ‘Oh my God, I’m at fall camp now,’” Cooper said. “You know, they were supposed to be going to prom in the spring, and now they’re at fall camp, so it’s a little bit of the shock of that. Just getting over the anxiety. I think they just got normal freshman anxiety right now.
"They’re both talented players, but we do see growth every single day, and we see it in the meeting rooms more than anything. They’re answering questions better. They’re being accountable to the guys in the room, which has been awesome. And I just keep telling them, just stack days and be a little bit better than they were the day before."
While there may not be much more than special teams work available for them this season, Cooper wants four or five safeties ready to go when the season begins. The reality is, either one of these freshmen could be just an injury away from earning defensive snaps in 2025, and the work they’re putting in right now is about making sure they’re ready if that day comes.
Life after Hunter Wohler
Replacing Hunter Wohler isn’t an easy task. His ability to lead, make plays in coverage, and erase mistakes was a key part of Wisconsin’s defense.
But this year’s safety room looks as deep and versatile as it has in a while. With Zachman and Brown entrenched as starters, Wisconsin has the luxury of bringing along budding talents like Jung and Traynor, both of whom are expected to be in the two‑deep this fall, as well as Dean and Emmerich, members of the 2025 recruiting class the staff views as major building blocks for the future, without feeling the need to rush them.
The challenge now isn’t finding two capable safeties, because that's not enough, it’s figuring out how to manage the workload across a Big Ten season without losing the stability that comes from keeping veterans on the field. Cooper knows that balance will define how the group holds up.
“It’s a fine line," Cooper said. "I try to talk to strength guys every single day about player loads and numbers and making sure we’re taking care of the guys from a body standpoint. But at the same time, there is a comfortability factor of a sixth-year senior like Preston Zachman always in the game. So there’s a fine line, and we’ve got to figure out what that is.
"Are we going to play five, six safeties? Probably not. But I do think it’s really hard to go two safeties in a Big Ten season, especially with us having to play special teams and tackle backs and do things like that. Preferably, we can get up to four or five, that’d be the sweet spot. Then it’s Coach Tress’s and my job to put them in spots to play successfully.”
Zachman and Brown will be tough to pull off the field. They’re steady, experienced, and trusted by the coaching staff. But the grind of a season makes it impossible to ride just two players from September to November.
Wisconsin’s depth will need to be more than insurance, it has to be a strength. That balance between leaning on the veterans and keeping the rotation fresh will be one of Cooper’s most important jobs this fall.
The Badgers know their secondary is going to be tested early and often against an imposing 2025 slate. And if what we’ve seen and heard so far is any indication, Wisconsin won't just be rolling out two dependable starters this fall — they’ve got multiple guys who look capable of playing winning football. They’re going to need every bit of that depth.
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