Back in the flow: Preston Zachman brings experience to Indiana’s secondary

Preston Zachman had to get used to football again.

After a season-ending injury last season at Wisconsin, the seventh-year safety came to Indiana with a new team, new teammates and a new defense to learn. But the biggest adjustment was not necessarily the scheme. It was returning to the speed and rhythm of live action after spending most of last fall sidelined.

“Just going back out there and playing live game reps, for the first time these past two weeks, I had missed most of last season,” Zachman said Tuesday. “Just kind of getting back out into the feel and the flow of how a game goes has kind of been the biggest challenge. But, I mean, I’m feeling good and ready to keep improving.”

Zachman has played college football long enough to understand how quickly a season, and a roster, can change. Indiana has already had to adjust in the secondary after injuries at cornerback created opportunities for other players.

For Zachman, that puts even more importance on the communication coming from the back end of the defense.

“It definitely changes things, but you got to have the next man up mentality,” Zachman said. “Guys are going to go down. The guy stepping in has to be ready to communicate and everyone’s got to be on the same page.”

The Hoosiers were sharper defensively in their second game against Howard after a far from clean opener against North Texas, Zachman said. The biggest improvement came in the small things like tackling, communication and overall attention to detail.

“I think it was just more of our attention to detail,” Zachman said. “Just being intentional with our tackling, our communication, everything like that. All the little details. We weren’t very clean the first week. We were a little sloppy and I think we made good improvement. We have to continue to do that.”

At safety, Zachman’s role naturally goes beyond making tackles. He needs to process what the offense is showing him, help make sure the secondary is aligned and react when things change on the fly.

His background as a high school quarterback still helps. Zachman said he tries to approach the position by understanding what quarterbacks are seeing and anticipating how they want to attack a defense.

“I try to be a high-level player and kind of think like a quarterback or try to play games with the quarterback,” Zachman said. “I think that’s something I take pride in with my game, just kind of being a step ahead of the offense and the quarterback.”

That experience also helped Zachman transition into Bryant Haines’ system. He played under two different coordinators at Wisconsin, and while every defense has its own terminology and wrinkles, he said there is enough overlap from system to system to make the adjustment manageable.

What Zachman has found at Indiana is another veteran communicator beside him in Amare Ferrell. The two safteys have built a connection early in the season, one Zachman said helps the entire defense operate more smoothly.

“Both of us being veteran guys, we kind of are both high thinkers,” Zachman said. “Just being on the same page all the time, it kind of makes our jobs a lot easier. He makes my job easy, I make his job easy, that type of thing. It’s just really good to kind of have that connection with him.”

The same mindset extends through Indiana’s safety room. Zachman said the younger players have been open to asking questions, but the learning process is not limited to younger players listening to veterans. It can be as simple as sharing something one player saw in a previous defense or talking through a situation that comes up during practice.

That kind of communication has mattered as Indiana tests its depth. Zachman said one reason the Hoosiers have stood out to him is that the roster does not depend on one player to carry the team.

“There isn’t necessarily like one player that kind of carries the team,” Zachman said. “You can’t really find a low spot in the team or a weakness. A guy will step up even if the corners went down, two guys stepped up and it was like you didn’t even notice.”

A year ago, Zachman was trying to recover from an injury that took him away from the game. Now, he is back in the flow of live football and helping Indiana stay organized when the next player is called upon.