Tag: zakee wheatley

Top 10 moments from Penn State’s 2024 season: Fighting for a clutch road win at Minnesota (No. 6)

Penn State’s road win at Minnesota helped save the 2024 season for the Nittany Lions.

With Penn State’s football season now officially in the books, now is a good time to start putting the whole season into perspective. Although the season ended with the Nittany Lions coming up just short of playing for a national championship, there were a lot of good moments to reflect on positively from the 2024 season that ended with a final record of 13-3. The shortcomings are well documented, but the highlights of the year should not be forgotten.

Penn State’s final road game of the season came at a time when the Nittany Lions were still in the mix for a spot in the Big Ten championship game but in need of some help outside of their control. But for any of that to come to fruition, the Nittany Lions still had to finish the regular season with wins against Minnesota and Maryland. A setback in either would wreck Penn State’s Big Ten hopes and be a critical blow to a shot at playing in the College Football Playoff.  A road trip to Minnesota was not to be taken lightly despite the Nittany Lions being the favorite.

Though the teams were different in 2024 than they were a few years ago, it was a road game at Minnesota that took Penn State off course for a Big Ten title shot and a chance at playing in the four-team College Football Playoff in 2019, and Penn State once again found themselves in a battle with the Gophers in late November with the season on the line.

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Penn State dug another early hole by going down 10-0 early in the second quarter before finally getting something going with the offense. A 45-yard touchdown pass from [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] to [autotag]Omari Evans[/autotag] got the Nittany Lions on the scoreboard and a 45-yard field goal from Ryan Barker got Penn State out of the 10-0 hole. Later in the quarter, Minnesota blocked a Penn State punt gave the Gophers the football at the Penn State 21-yard line, and Max Brosmer completed a pass to Jameson Geers for a quick touchdown on the first play of the short drive.

Not much had gone right for Penn State in the first half, but it looked as though the Nittany Lions would be able to get into halftime tied at 17-17, but the Gophers blocked Barker’s extra point attempt and returned it for two points to take a 19-16 lead into halftime.

Minnesota extended its lead to 22-16 with a field goal in the third quarter, but a Nicholas Singleton touchdown run of 12 yards in the third quarter gave Penn State a 23-22 lead, and a field goal early in the fourth quarter added to the lead and capitalized on a Minnesota fumble forced by [autotag]Zakee Wheatley[/autotag].

Minnesota threatened Penn State with a grueling 67-yard drive but was forced to settle for a short field goal after getting a 1st-and-goal from the Penn State seven-yard run. It ended up being the defensive stand of the year for Penn State because the offense never gave the football back to Minnesota for the final 5:48.

On 4th-and-1 from the Penn State 34-yard line, the Nittany Lions gambled with a fake punt and Luke Reynolds picked up 32 yards on the ground.

That led to another 4th-and-1 decision to go for it, although this time with a more traditional push up the middle from Allar with 2:12 to play from the Minnesota 25-yard line. Penn State completed one more 4th down conversion to close out the game when Allar connected with star tight end Tyler Warren, who fell to the ground rather than run up the score, and Penn State escaped with a well-earned 26-25 victory.

The win helped set the stage for its shot to play for the Big Ten championship, which came a week later with a win over Maryland following Michiagn’s upset win at Ohio State to knock the Buckeyes into the loss column for a second time in Big Ten play.

Penn State’s 2024 season was highlighted by its success on the road with road wins at West Virginia, USC, Wisconsin, and Minnesota all showing a different kind of Penn State team compared to previous seasons. Each road win provided different forms of adversity that needed to be responded to, especially in conference play. If not for those road wins, Penn State’s season may not have ended with a run into the College Football Playoff semifinals.

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Tyler Warren and Zakee Wheatley named Fiesta Bowl MVPs

Fiesta Bowl honors Penn State stars after College Football Playoff win against Boise State.

As the confetti was falling in Glendale, Arizona following Penn State’s 31-14 victory over Boise State, Penn State head coach James Franklin was handed the Fiesta Bowl trophy, for the second time in his career. Penn State put together a gritty performance and needed some players to step up and make some big plays in big moments. And the two who delivered the most were honored as the Fiesta Bowl MVPs during the postgame celebration.

[autotag]Tyler Warren[/autotag] was named the Fiesta Bowl offensive mopst valuable player. Warren made two incredible touchdown catches in the back of the end zone. Warren, this year’s Mackey Award winner, gave Penn State a 7-0 lead int eh first quarter with the first of his two touchdown grabs. His second touchdown helped put the game out of reach for Boise State. Warren ended the game with six catches for 63 yards and the two touchdowns.

[autotag]Zakee Wheatley[/autotag] was named the most valuable defensive player in the Fiesta Bowl. Wheatley came up with a fumble recovery off of Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty in the first half, making a terrific play to grab the loose ball in the air before stepping out of bounds. The fumble was forced by linebacker Kobe King. Wheatley picked off a pass by Maddux Madsen in the second half to help Penn State pull away and put the game out of reach against the Broncos. Wheatley also had three tackles in the game.

Warren and Wheatley and the rest of the Nittany Lions will now move on to prepare for the Orange Bowl, the site of one of the semifinal games in the College Football Playoff. Penn State will face the winner of the Super Bowl quarterfinal matchup between SEC champion Georgia and Notre Dame in Miami on Thursday, January 9, 2025.

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Penn State advances after 31-14 Fiesta Bowl victory over Boise State

Penn State’s running game and defense overpowered Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl. Next up, the Orange Bowl and the semifinal round!

In the first meeting between Penn State and Boise State, two teams who combined for a perfect 10-0 record all-time in Fiesta Bowl appearances, the Nittany Lions never trailed in a 31-14 win over the Broncos. Penn State is the first team to punch its spot in the semifinal round of the College Football Playoff with the win.

After the defense did well to contain Heisman Trophy runner-up Ashton Jeanty on the opening drive again and force Boise State to settle for a field goal attempt, which was tipped and failed, Penn State went to work flexing its muscle with its running game. Fueled by some strong runs and bursts by [autotag]Kaytron Allen[/autotag] and a couple of nice gains by [autotag]Nicholas Singleton[/autotag], Penn State maneuvered itself down the field on its first offensive possession. [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] completed a terrific pass to tight end [autotag]Tyler Warren[/autotag] in the back of the end zone as Warren managed to grab the football and get a foot down for the first score of the game.

Penn State took a 14-0 lead later in the first quarter when Allar took a deep shot to [autotag]Omari Evans[/autotag], who managed to beat his defender down the field for a 38-yard reception. After the defense forced a fumble by Jeanty in the second quarter, it appeared Penn State was set to go on cruise control and open up a three-score lead, but a botched exchange between Allar and Singleton put the ball on the ground for the Boise State defense. That turnover and an apparent arm injury to Abdul Carter helped spark the Broncos to a touchdown drive to cut into the lead. Penn State would take a 17-7 lead into halftime with a [autotag]Ryan Barker[/autotag] field goal to close the half.

But the offense started flat in the second half and the Broncos took advantage of a blown coverage for a 53-yard touchdown throw from Maddux Madsen to a wide-open tight end Matt Lauter to cut the Penn State lead to 17-14 early in the third quarter.

Penn State had an answer, and it came with another grueling touchdown drive highlighted by a pair of third-and-longs and a touchdown catch in the red zone from Allar to Warren. Penn State took a 24-14 lead into the fourth quarter and [autotag]Zakee Wheatley[/autotag] started the final quarter off with a big interception on a third-and-long. It was his second forced turnover of the game after recovering a Jeanty fumble in the first half.

Penn State was unable to capitalize and put the game firmly out of reach, which left Boise State with some life. Jeanty delivered his biggest run of the night to convert on a 3rd-and-21 deep in Boise State’s end, and the Broncos worked their way down the field and into the red zone. But the defense, stood tall with a key [autotag]Amin Vanover[/autotag] sack and Boise State’s field goal attempt sailed just wide right to keep Penn State up by 10 points with 9:20 remaining on the clock.

Penn State worked a few minutes off the clock, but Singleton put the game on ice with a 58-yard touchdown run right up the middle of the Boise State defense. The touchdown gave Penn State a commanding 31-14 lead with just under five minutes to play. [autotag]Zion Tracy[/autotag] picked off a pass from Madsen on Boise State’s ensuing possession to lock down the win.

Penn State rushed for 217 yards. Jeanty became just the second player to rush for 100 yards against Penn State this season, but the defense did prevent him from chasing down the NCAA’s single-season rushing record held by Barry Sanders. Jeanty needed 132 yards to break Sanders’ record but ended his night with 104 rushing yards.

Penn State will move on to the semifinal round of the College Football Playoff. The Nittany Liopns will head to Miami to play in the Orange Bowl and will fscr the winner of the Sugar Bowl matchup between SEC champion Georgia and Notre Dame. Georgia enjoyed the bye in the first round while Notre Dame handled Indiana in the first round in South Bend, Indiana. The Orange Bowl is scheduled for Thursday, January 9, 2025.

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Penn State won’t have KJ Winston back for College Football Playoff

James Franklin confirms Penn State will be without star safety for the College Football Playoff.

Penn State head coach James Franklin was happy to see his team come out of the Big Ten championship game as healthy as possible despite coming out on the losing end of things against Orgeon. But the Nittany Lions will unfortunately still be without one of its key defensive players for the duration of the College Football Playoff as safety [autotag]KJ Winston[/autotag] was confirmed to be out with his long-term injury according to Franklin this week.

The writing was on the wall that Penn State would make the College Football Playoff this year for the first in [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag]’s tenure, but when they made the Big Ten championship game, the question then became how high of a seed they could be.

While the Nittany Lions lost against Oregon, they were given a favorable path by the committee; facing SMU at home in the first round and then taking on Group of 5 team Boise State if they get past the Mustangs.

This draw might be the best out of any team in the 12-team tournament, including those who received a bye, but ultimately it will come down to what Penn State does on the field.

After the Nittany Lions defense was taken apart by Oregon in the title game, there are some concerns about how they might hold up when facing another team of that caliber.

Someone who would certainly help that unit is [autotag]KJ Winston[/autotag], Penn State’s star safety who was lost with a “long-term injury” after the Bowling Green game, which was the second contest of their season.

Unfortunately, Franklin put that notion to bed.

“We will not get KJ back for this year,” he said per Daniel Gallen of 247Sports. “Like I mentioned before, long-term injury.”

That is a huge blow to Penn State and their chances of winning the national championship this year since Winston was viewed as one of the best safeties in the country and even earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors following the opener against West Virginia when he had 12 tackles and forced a fumble.

The Nittany Lions will then have to keep running out the same secondary unit, led by [autotag]Jaylen Reed[/autotag] and [autotag]Zakee Wheatley[/autotag] on the back end to go with their young corner group.

Penn State wins first football game against UCLA since 1968

Penn State’s defense helped ensure UCLA would not be heading home with a souvenir victory on Saturday afternoon.

Penn State won its first game against UCLA since 1968 thanks to a 27-11 victory on Saturday afternoon in front of a striped-out Beaver Stadium crowd. In the first meeting between the Nittany Lions and Bruins as Big Ten opponents, Penn State got off to a slow start on offense before putting the Bruins to sleep behind a strong defensive effort.

UCLA started Justyn Martin at quarterback with Ethan Garbers listed as questionable prior to the game, and Martin seemed to give Penn State’s defense a few problems early on. But the Nittany Lions defense, led by leading tacklers linebacker [autotag]Tony Rojas[/autotag] and safety [autotag]Zakee Wheatley[/autotag], held the Bruins out of the end zone until the final 20 seconds of the game. UCLA had gone nearly 150 minutes of game time without scoring an offensive touchdown.

[autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] completed 17 of 24 passes for 237 yards and a touchdown, including a 57-yard pass over the middle to [autotag]Liam Clifford[/autotag], who led all players with 107 yards. [autotag]Julian Fleming[/autotag] came within a yard of his first touchdown with Penn State, and [autotag]Tyler Warren[/autotag] added three catches for 29 yards with a touchdown.

Star running back [autotag]Nicholas Singleton[/autotag] did not appear in the game after being listed as questionable on Penn State’s pregame player availability report. So [autotag]Kaytron Allen[/autotag] took the lead on the ground with 21 carries for 78 yards and a touchdown.

Despite only managing three points, UCLA’s offense did give Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Allen a few things to work on heading into Penn State’s remaining schedule, starting with a top-25 matchup on the road next week.

Penn State will be on the road for its first Big Ten road game of the season next week when they visit another Big Ten newcomer, USC. Penn State will play its first game at USC since 1991.

UCLA will look to rebound and snap a three-game losing skid in Big Ten play with a home game against Minnesota next week.

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Penn State overcomes surprising challenge vs. Bowling Green in 34-27 win

Penn State’s defense played a much better second half to help avoid an upset to Bowling Green.

Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen each had 100-yard games and tight end Tyler Warren led all players with 146 receiving yards, but Penn State’s 34-27 over Bowling Green was anything but easy. The Nittany Lions came from behind with a strong second-half effort by the defense to improve to 2-0 on the season. Despite being a five-touchdown favorite, Penn State had a lot to tighten up at halftime to find a way to put Bowling Green away for good, and it was not until late in the fourth quarter they finally did,

Bowling Green opened the game with a stunning touchdown drive, marching 75 yards on six plays to put the first points of the day on the board with a six-yard from Connor Bazelak to Harold Fannin Jr. Fannin Jr. was just setting the stage for a massive day against the Penn State defense, which struggled to contain him all afternoon.

Penn State answered on the next possession with a quick touchdown drive with [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] capping a 75-yard drive with a five-yard touchdown run. But the Falcons took a 10-7 lead before the end of the second quarter and led by a score of 17-7 just minutes into the second quarter. Penn State battled back to tie things up at 17-17, but Bowling Green retook the lead on a 41-yard touchdown run by Jamal Johnson, and Bowling Green held on to a 24-20 lead at halftime.

It was not until just past the midway point of the third quarter that Penn State took its first lead of the game. Allar completed a 14-yard pass to a streaking [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag] over the middle of the defense for the go-ahead score. The drive was highlighted by a hefty dose of passes to tight end Tyler Warren.

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Penn State had a chance to create a little breathing room late in the third quarter but a Drew Allar pass was picked off in the end zone by Jacorey Benjamin. Fortunately for Penn State, Benjamin made a poor decision to try returning the interception out of the end zone and was knocked out of bounds at the three-yard line as the third quarter came to a close. That led to a needed defensive stop at the start of the fourth quarter by the Penn State defense, which gave the Nittany Lions another chance to go up by two scores.

But Penn State was forced to punt the football away on the ensuing drive after a deep pass from Allar to Harrison Wallace III, one of the offensive stars in Week 1, was broken up.

Penn State’s defense cleaned things up after halftime and came up with interceptions on back-to-back Bowling Green possessions in the fourth quarter, one by linebacker [autotag]Tony Rojas[/autotag] and the other by safety [autotag]Zakee Wheatley[/autotag]. Shortly after Wheatley’s pick, Singleton ripped off his third touchdown run of 40+ yards this season to put Penn State up 34-24.

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Singleton ended the day with 133 total offensive yards and two touchdowns. Allen had his first 100-yard game of the season. Wide receiver Julian Fleming had his first catch in a Penn State uniform, although for a small three-yard gain.

Jaylen Reed led the Penn State defense with 10 tackles and [autotag]Abdul Carter[/autotag] came up with some big plays along with his 7 tackles. Kobe King added 7 tackles and came down with a football on a late Bowling Green onside kick attempt to allow Penn State to run out the clock once and for all.

Penn State will be off next week. The Nittany Lions return to action on Saturday, Sept. 21 with a home game against Kent State.

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Penn State’s junior safety could see more playing time this year

Is Zakee Wheatley ready for a bigger role in Penn State’s defense in 2024?

There aren’t very many spots on Penn State’s defense where they don’t have to address departures, but safety is one of them.

[autotag]Jaylen Reed[/autotag] and [autotag]KJ Winston[/autotag] were the two starters on last year’s team who didn’t rotate out very often and that’s expected to be similar this season as well.

But that doesn’t mean there won’t be opportunities for others to find themselves on the field in those spots based on different points of the game, or worst case scenario due to injuries.

Having backups ready to contribute is paramount for elite programs across the country and it seems like the Nittany Lions have someone ready to step into that role.

According to Tyler Donohue of 247Sports, [autotag]Zakee Wheatley[/autotag] has impressed during spring practices after being in third year of his transition from cornerback to safety with [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] saying “the light’s gone on for him” and he’s had “by far” his best offseason workouts (subscription required).

An interesting thing for Penn State’s secondary will be how it operates under new defensive coordinator [autotag]Tom Allen[/autotag] who is looking to implement a “Lion” role that has one of their safeties closer to the line of scrimmage.

Early comments from Allen suggest that Reed could be getting the majority of the snaps at the “Lion” position.

That could put Wheatley into deep coverage where he has excelled during practice.

In fact, Donohue notes that no player has come away with more takeaways than Wheatley.

Because of the unknown, it should be expected that the redshirt junior sees much more playing time this season after only logging around 250 snaps last year.

2023 Penn State football snapshot profile: No. 6 Zakee Wheatley

Where does safety Zakee Wheatley fit in the defensive outlook for Penn State in 2023?

Going into the 2023 football season, Nittany Lions Wire will be looking at each scholarship player listed on the Penn State roster. Over the preseason, each profile will cover where the player is from, how recruiting websites rated them coming out of high school, and what role they will play for James Franklin this season

Continuing this effort is a look at a rising defensive contribution, safety Zakee Wheatley. Wheatley is coming into the 2023 season with a shot at landing a starting role on the defense, if not just getting a bigger chunk of playing time. Wheatley saw a good amount of playing time in 2022 and could see even more as he continues to prove to be one of Penn State’s top players in the secondary.

Penn State spring football preview: Cornerbacks and safeties

There are some key spots to fill in the Penn State secondary this spring.

Penn State is normally known as “Linebacker U,” but recently their secondary players have been making waves at the NFL level.

In recent years, [autotag]Adrian Amos[/autotag], [autotag]Nick Scott[/autotag] and [autotag]Jaquan Brisker[/autotag] have all been featured in prominent roles at the next level. Now, [autotag]Joey Porter Jr.[/autotag] is expected to be the highest Penn State secondary player ever taken in the NFL Draft and [autotag]Ji’Ayir Brown[/autotag] is climbing up draft boards.

The current 2023 roster has a bunch of playmakers as well. This will be an experienced group overall and should have a major impact on the success of Penn State’s defense this season.

The headliner in the group is cornerback [autotag]Kalen King[/autotag]. He was a bit overshadowed by Porter Jr. last season, but it’s now his time to shine. Others in the secondary should become a household name this season as well.

Here are some names to watch as spring practices start.

Kalen King

Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports

Measurables: 5’11” / 185 lbs.

Year: Junior

Expected Role: Starting cornerback

Kalen King is a flat out star. While overshadowed by the bigger name of Joey Porter Jr., he put together an elite season last year. His PFF grade of 89.0 was 8th best out of 916 corners.

He is expected to be one of the most impactful players on the defense and might be the best player in the program. He showed how good he was in a primary role during the Rose Bowl. If King continues to play like he did last season, Penn State is in good hands at starting cornerback.

Johnny Dixon

Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Measurables: 6’0″ 190 lbs.

Year: Redshirt Senior

Expected Role: Starting cornerback

[autotag]Johnny Dixon[/autotag] will have some big shoes to fill this season. The former South Carolina transfer is expected to win the starting role during the spring and summer to play opposite of King.

In the two season he’s been at Penn State, Dixon improved his PFF grade by 10 points. He ranked 260th out of 916 corners in 2022-23, recording 23 total tackles, 10 passes defended and two interceptions. There is potential that this could be a position battle to watch in the spring and summer as James Franklin brought in a transfer cornerback from North Carolina.

NEXT: The expected starters at safety

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Top 5 position battles heading into Penn State’s spring practices

These position battles will be heating up when Penn State opens spring football practices.

Penn State football is in a very good position overall with the way that James Franklin has this team constructed. Of course, there are a few positions that need to be sorted out still.

The position battles going on this spring will be what solidify the starting lineup. The team is very deep and whoever loses these battles shouldn’t be seen as someone not of the quality you expect from Penn State. Rather, it will speak volumes as to what the starters should be seen as which is top-level quality players.

Here are the top five position battles to monitor this spring.