Young safety leading Penn State football in takeaways this spring
When Penn State star Ji’Ayir Brown watches second-year safety Zakee Wheatley, he’s reminded a lot of himself.
Perhaps that’s because both players have a mutual habit of finding the football at every opportunity.
In his first season as a full-time starter in 2021, Brown tied for the nation’s lead in interceptions with six. Wheatley, having moved from corner to safety this offseason, is Penn State’s takeaway king through 13 of 15 allotted spring practices.
“He’s a very instinctive player,” Brown said Wednesday. “And the most important piece is he plays with passion. You know, he goes out there and he plays hard. He lets his instincts just flow, and I think that causes him to run into a lot of plays and make plays for us. That’s why he’s been great for us so far.”
Joining defensive tackle Zane Durant, Wheatley is among the defensive players generating the most noise this spring for Penn State.
He played only sparingly in the fall. Wheatley appeared in three games, taking 11 snaps. Still, his athleticism made itself apparent. Listed at 6-foot-2, 191 pounds, he certainly has the length necessary to make plays in the secondary.
By all accounts this spring, he’s put those natural gifts to effective use.
Wheatley’s stock didn’t begin its ascent late this spring, either. He’s been a consistent standout performer. Head coach James Franklin singled Wheatley out for praise in late March.
“Right now, he just seems to find the football,” Penn State’s head coach said. “The ball likes him. He likes the football, and he’s kind of standing out right now.”
Where exactly Wheatley fits in the hierarchy at safety at the moment isn’t quite clear.
Brown will certainly occupy one of the starting spots. Alongside him, Keaton Ellis and Jaylen Reed were both useful depth options at the tail end of last season. And the Nittany Lions will introduce four new safeties to the room this summer: Tyrece Mills, Mehki Flowers, Cristian Driver and KJ Winston Jr.
Cornerbacks coach Terry Smith, who had Wheatley in his room last season, offered an encouraging forecast.
Should Wheatley’s takeaway prowess continue, “he’s gonna play a lot of football for us soon,” Smith said.
Wheatley is following a similar developmental path to Ellis, who began his career at Penn State as a corner before later transitioning to safety.
The Nittany Lions identified safety as Wheatley’s best long-term position before his arrival. However, Franklin felt he’d benefit from a season on the perimeter of the defense.
“Starting him at corner and the confidence that comes from kind of being out there on an island we think is valuable,” Franklin said earlier this spring.
With Wheatley, though, everything comes back to his ball skills. Adding another interception to his tally during Wednesday evening’s practice, Wheatley is providing Penn State’s defense with its most valuable currency: Takeaways.
“Zakee has elite ball skills,” Smith said. “He has a knack to find the football. He did a nice job at corner in the fall for us, and we moved him over to safety. He’s making the adjustment.
“The guy just has a tremendous ability to find the football. Those guys, they tend to play for a long time because you can change the game. Any time we can get the ball back to our offense, that’s the goal of the defense.”
