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.
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.
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.
247Sports says this Class of 2023 piece could have early impact at Penn State
Penn State’s latest recruiting cycle certainly hit the mark when it came to adding quality depth across the roster. A solid follow-up to the Class of 2022, the incoming Class of 2023 is not short on quality pieces that could have an impact relatively early on for the Nittany Lions. Among those in the class highlighted as a player to watch as early as 2023 could be safety King Mack.
Here is what 247Sports said about one of Penn State’s next big defensive stars;
Penn State’s 2023 safety haul is absurd. The Nittany Lions landed a trio of Top247 four-star safeties from the state of Florida, headlined by King Mack. Not only is Mack the most ready-to-play prospect of the group, but he’s also the highest-upside player. Mack was a defensive and special teams terror this fall for Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas, which got 50 tackles, one interception, two punt blocks, one kick block, one defensive TD, two kick return scores and two punt return TDs. The 5-foot-11, 180 pound speedster has an outstanding track profile which contributes to the excellent athleticism he shows on the field (a 10.69 100, a 21.43 200, and a 46.25 400, which won gold in Florida’s Class 3A).
As referenced by the writeup from 247Sports, Mack is one of three safeties in Penn State’s recruiting class. He is joined by four-star DaKaari Nelson from Alabama and four-star Elliot Washington from Florida. Penn State was close to adding another safety to the mix but Conrad Hussey flipped his commitment from Penn State to Florida State in the early signing period.
Penn State will have at least one starting job open at the safety position in 2023 with [autotag]Ji’Ayir Brown[/autotag] graduating and moving on to the NFL. Penn State’s most senior safety heading into 2023 will be [autotag]Keaton Ellis[/autotag]. Potential candidates for starting in Brown’s vacant spot include returning players such as [autotag]Jaylen Reed[/autotag] and [autotag]Zakee Wheatley[/autotag]. But Mack certainly is on the radar coming into the program.
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Instant reaction: Penn State puts on dominating display at Auburn, 41-12
It took a little bit of time to establish its dominance over Auburn, but Penn State took full control of the Tigers and the crowd at Jordan-Hare Stadium in the second half. Penn State outscored the Tigers 24-7 after halftime en route to an eye-opening 41-12 victory on the road down south on Saturday.
Freshmen running backs [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag] (124 yards, two touchdowns) and [autotag]Kaytron Allen[/autotag] (52 yards, two touchdowns) led the charge on offense, but the defense was the big story of the game for the Nittany Lions. [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] dialed up a defensive gameplan that gave up some chunk plays in the first half but limited Auburn to two red zone drives resulting in just two field goals after the Tigers were knocking on the goal line.
Penn State’s defense also forced four turnovers with a pair of interceptions and a pair of fumble recoveries in the game. [autotag]Ji’Ayir Brown[/autotag] and [autotag]Zakee Wheatley[/autotag] each came up with interceptions in the game to stall what could have been promising Auburn scoring drives.
[autotag]Adisa Isaac[/autotag] was a standout performer as well as he showed relentless pursuit against Auburn quarterback TJ Finley, who did not finish the game as the Tigers quarterback. Linebackers [autotag]Abdul Carter[/autotag] and [autotag]Curtis Jacobs[/autotag] each had some big moments as well as the defense was on fire in the second half. [autotag]Kalen King[/autotag] made some big pass breakups as well.
This was a full team victory all over the roster, and this could be a springboard to bigger things down the line for the Nittany Lions.
Next up for Penn State is one more non-conference matchup before jumping back into Big Ten play. Penn State will host Central Michigan next Saturday for a noon kickoff in Beaver Stadium.
Auburn will hope for a rebound next weekend with their SEC opener at home against Missouri.
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Check out the first-half highlights from Penn State vs. Auburn.
Penn State and Auburn are locked in a tight one down in Jordan-Hare Stadium. The defenses have been coming up with some big plays, including a pair of red zone stops by the Penn State defense to force Auburn to settle for field goals.
Sean Clifford took a big hit early on but led the offense to a go-ahead touchdown on his second series of the game. Penn State also forced two turnovers in the half.
Here are some of the highlights from the first half of the game as the teams look to make their adjustments going into the second half.
Ji’Ayir Brown’s return highlights the safety position overview for Penn State in 2022. Position overview…
Penn State is prepping for a season in which the program hopes to redeem itself on the national stage. After back-to-back seasons of mediocre results, Penn State is aiming to bounce back and prove themselves worthy of being in the Big Ten championship hunt, if not a little bit more.
Penn State kicks off the 2022 season with a Thursday night primetime matchup at Purdue on September 1. And for the second straight year, the depth and quality of the defensive secondary appears to be a strength for Penn State. The safety position loses a big-time player in Jaquan Brisker but the return of Ji’Ayir Brown coming off his breakout season is a big plus for the defense this fall.
Here is a look at the safeties on the roster for Penn State coming into the 2022 season.
Some of the best photos available of Penn State safety Zakee Wheatley heading into the 2022 season.
The next player is safety Zakee Wheatley. Wheatley will have plenty of competition going into the 2022 season at Penn State, with newcomers like Cristian Driver.
However, Wheatley is a guy to watch in that deep safety room to see if he takes that big step forward for the Nittany Lions defense.
Here are the top moments from Wheatley’s time at Penn State thus far.
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Apr 23, 2022; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions wide receiver Kaden Saunders (7) looks for a way around safety Zakee Wheatley (6) during the Blue White spring game at Beaver Stadium. The defense defeated the offense 17-13. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY SportsNov 6, 2021; College Park, Maryland, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions cornerback Zakee Wheatley (6) on the sideline during the game against the Maryland Terrapins at Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY SportsNov 6, 2021; College Park, Maryland, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions cornerback Zakee Wheatley (6) and cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields (5) on the sidelines during the game against the Maryland Terrapins at Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY SportsNov 6, 2021; College Park, Maryland, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions defensive tackle Coziah Izzard (99) walks by cornerback Zakee Wheatley (6) during the game against the Maryland Terrapins at Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY SportsNov 6, 2021; College Park, Maryland, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions cornerback Zakee Wheatley (6) on the sidelines during the game against the Maryland Terrapins at Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
And now the grades are in for Penn State’s performance during the Blue-White Game. Here’s how each position group was graded for the spring game in Beaver Stadium on Saturday.
Quarterback: C
Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports
A recurring theme when it comes to the offensive grades following Penn State’s game is probably chalked up to a simple “Eh, it could have been better.” That was the basic takeaway from the performance of the quarterbacks overall, but any expectation of any passer just lighting up the spring game may have been unreasonable.
We were never likely to see a whole lot out of [autotag]Sean Clifford[/autotag], the sixth-year senior who really has little more to prove at this point. We know pretty much exactly what Clifford is, and if given time to process the field, he can make plays. But he had some overthrown passes at times. He did, however, throw the game’s only touchdown of the game.
The backup competition behind Clifford is the real storyline here, and the future of [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] is what fans are eager to witness. But a rough spring debut for the true freshman shows there is still work to be done in the big picture. If based solely on one afternoon, [autotag]Christian Veilleux[/autotag] proved he should be the team’s primary backup option heading into the season, although Allar should improve quickly.
Inside the box score with some key stats from Penn State’s Blue-White Game.
Penn State’s Blue-White Game showed the Nittany Lions are still a bit of a work in progress in some key areas, but there were still some players and developments worth being optimistic about moving into the summer. And the final box score from a spring scrimmage like Penn State’s can oftentimes be misleading or unnecessarily overanalyzed. Nonetheless, it is a starting point for evaluating just where the Nittany Lions are heading once the 2022 season begins.
So, with the caution of not wanting to get too carried away with the official stats shared by Penn State from the Blue-White Game on Saturday afternoon, let’s dive headfirst into the key stats from the final spring practice of the season before Penn State moves to the next stage of its offseason.
Sean Clifford had some decent production in his time on the field, including the game’s only touchdown pass (to transfer addition Mitchell Tinsley. Clifford also had the best performance from passers in seven-on-seven drills, for whatever that is worth.
Christian Veilleux had the most complete performance among those vying for backup consideration to Clifford. This could have been expected given he already has some in-game experience from last season.
Don’t get too down when reviewing the stat line for five-star quarterback Drew Allar, because he was not given much help at times by his receivers dropping passes or having a ball bounce off their hands. But he did have a number of throws that seemed to be just a tad behind his intended targets. And Beau Pribula also had some freshman moments, which was to be expected.
NEXT: Who were the top running backs in the Blue-White Game?
