Zakee Wheatley and Tyler Warren are more similar than Penn State fans might think.
Itโs easy to see why this comparison would come across as strange.
Wheatley is a safety, Warren is a tight end.
So while it might make sense to compare Wheatley to somebody like Ed Reed or Warren to somebody like John Mackey, comparing players at two completely different positions isnโt usual.
At the same time, itโs logical.
It took Warren five seasons to become Penn Stateโs No. 1 tight end. No. 44 had to play behind players such as Pat Freiermuth, Brenton Strange and Theo Johnson, all of which are in the NFL now.
When Warren got his shot, he ran with it and became a first-round pick as a result.
It took Wheatley the exact amount of time to become Penn Stateโs top safety. Over his first four seasons, Penn State produced NFL talent such as Jaquan Brisker, JiโAyir Brown, KJ Winston and Jaylen Reed.
Now, Wheatley is the top guy, and by the end of last season, no Penn State defender was playing better football.
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 198 pounds
Hometown: Crofton, Marylandย
Before Penn State: Zakee Wheatley, a four-star recruit who was Penn Stateโs fourth-highest rated signee according to 247Sports, came to Penn State after playing at Archbishop Spalding High School in Severn, Maryland. Covid-19 limited Wheatleyโs senior season to just two games. But in that time, Wheatley scored two touchdowns and picked off two passes.
In his last full high school season as a junior, Wheatley stood out on defense and offense. He ended the year with five interceptions and caught 56 passes for 810 yards and seven touchdowns. Wheatleyโs play got him selected to the Big 33 Game. Thatโs an All-Star exhibition between the best high school football players in Maryland and Pennsylvania.
At the end of his high school career, Wheatley was rated the 10th best overall player in Maryland by Rivals.com. He also twice lettered in basketball and played baseball his freshman year.
Wheatley has six siblings; four brothers and two sisters.
2021:ย Wheatley redshirted his freshman season, appearing in four games.
2022: Wheatley played in 12 of Penn Stateโs 13 games. He intercepted two passes and forced a fumble, the latter of which a key play in the teamโs season-opening 35-31 win the lights at Purdue. Additionally, Wheatley had 27 tackles (21 solo) and broke up a pass.
2023:ย Wheatleyโs 2023 wasnโt an easy one. Due to a talented safeties room that also featured KJ Winston, Jaylen Reed and Keaton Ellis, over the last seven games of the season, he played a total of 55 snaps. For context, he played 50 at Illinois Week 3. The low-point of his season playing-time wise came against Indiana on the last Saturday of October, when he played just one snap.
Last year:ย Due to unforeseen circumstances, Wheatley became Penn Stateโs number two safety as opposed to its No. 3. Between Penn Stateโs first game at West Virginia and second game against Bowling Green at Beaver Stadium, Winston suffered what we now know was a partially torn ACL.
He never played another down for Penn State.
This meant more action for Wheatley.
Per Pro Football Focus, Wheatley ended the season with 662 snaps.
Only Reed (681) played more.
Wheatley played at his best in the College Football Playoff.
In the teamโs Fiesta Bowl/quarterfinal win over Boise State, Wheatley recovered a fumble, intercepted a pass and was named defensive MVP.
In the Orange Bowl/semifinals against Notre Dame, Wheatley had another pick and ended with 16 tackles.
Penn State lost that game but Wheatley showed the world what he could do, and will have more chances to do that in 2025.
Where he stands:ย Where Wheatley stands at Penn State is straightforward. Heโs the teamโs top safety, and the question is how much he could improve his Draft stock over the next year.
A quote by Wheatley: “I think naturally, just getting older, growing, maturing, realizing my dream, realizing my talent and realizing what I have to do to really elevate to another level,” Wheatley said Tuesday night. “I feel like at first, I always used talent and my skill just to get me by. But I really learned that at this level and to be a great at the next level, you have to really train, do the small things and really just put your full time into this because this is my dream. This is truly my dream, and I gotta know what I need to do to go achieve that and go get that.” โ Zakee Wheatley this spring.
A quote about Wheatley:ย “Last January, he was a different dude when he stepped into this room,” Losey said. “After our [three]-week break after the season, I noticed a staunch difference then, and it’s only continued to snowball, and I noticed it again.” โ Penn State strength coach Chuck Losey on Wheatleyโs improved work ethic
