Tag: zakee wheatley

PHOTOS: Top moments from Penn State safety Zakee Wheatley

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 Sports
Nov 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 Sports
Nov 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 Sports
Nov 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 Sports
Nov 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

Blue-White Game Report Card: Grading Penn State’s spring football game

The grades are in for Penn State’s performance in the Blue-White Game.

Penn State’s spring game wasn’t exactly lighting up the scoreboard, even in a modified scoring system. And fans wanting to see drastic improvement from the program that has gone .500 over the past two seasons may be left wondering if Penn State is set up for another mediocre season in Happy Valley after watching the Blue-White Game. But Penn State’s final spring practice of the year had some positive developments and some reminders that help is on the way over the summer.

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.

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Next: Grading the running backs

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Inside the Box Score: The key stats from Penn State’s Blue-White Game

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.

And why not start with the quarterback position?

Quarterbacks

Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports
  • [autotag]Christian Veilleux[/autotag]: 5-of-14, 75 yards
  • [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag]: 6-of-14, 61 yards, 2 interceptions, 1 sack
  • [autotag]Sean Clifford[/autotag]: 4-of-7, 41 yards, 1 touchdown
  • [autotag]Beau Pribula[/autotag]: 2-of-3, 7 yards, 2 sacks

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?

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Zakee Wheatley makes position change before Penn State’s spring practices

This second-year player for Penn State is making a move to a new position this spring.

The start of Penn State’s spring practice schedule is creeping up, but one player is already working on a new position to keep an eye on this spring. Zakee Wheatley, a second-year player for the Nittany Lions, has reportedly made a move from cornerback to safety.

Penn State’s official roster online has noted the position change, but, as noted by Lions 247, it was a comment by safeties coach Anthony Poindexter that generated a stir about the position swap for Wheatley.

The move to safety is not one that seems to come across as shocking. Penn State’s situation at the cornerback position appears to be pretty solid with the return of Joey Porter Jr. and the rise of Kalen King likely providing the starting tandem at the positions. But Penn State has a bigger question mark at the safety position following the departure of Jaquan Brisker.

Penn State does still have Ji’Ayir Brown to anchor the safety position in 2022 after a stellar 2021 season. But locking down who will share the field with the three previously named players could be one of the big topics on the agenda for Penn State’s spring practices.

Penn State’s Blue-White Game is set for Saturday, April 23 at 2:00 p.m. ET. We’ll be paying close attention to the safety position during the spring game.

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Follow Nittany Lions Wire on Twitter and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion.

Let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

Penn State jersey numbers for new football players

Penn State has updated the jersey numbers for freshmen football players and some new transfer players

While some programs may play some offseason gimmicks of forcing players to earn their jersey number or a helmet decal, Penn State doesn’t mess around with such uniform motivations. And on Friday, Penn State confirmed the jersey numbers to be worn by every incoming freshman or transfer player being added to the roster this fall.

Penn State has already given some new players an official jersey number, including those who enrolled early and participated in spring football. But a couple of new additions to the program this summer now have their official jersey numbers as well.

Here’s a look at the official jersey numbers for a number of the newest Nittany Lions;

  • No. 4 – CB Kalen King
  • No. 6 – CB Zakee Wheatley
  • No. 7 – S Jaylen Reed
  • No. 9 – QB  Christian Veilleux
  • No. 14 – CB A.J. Lytton
  • No. 17 – TE Khalil Dinkins
  • No. 18 – DE Davon Townley Jr.
  • No. 24 – CB Jeffrey Davis Jr.
  • No. 28 – LB Dominic Deluca
  • No. 41 – LB Kobe King
  • No. 42 – LB Jamari Buddin
  • No. 52 – DT Jordan Van Den Berg
  • No. 58 – OL Landon Tengwall
  • No. 68 – OL Eric Wilson
  • No. 82 – WR Liam Clifford
  • No. 85 – WR Harrison Wallace III
  • No. 90 – DE Rodney McGraw
  • No. 94 – K Sander Sahaydak

Penn State will begin preseason camp on August 6. Penn State’s season opener will be played on September 4 at Wisconsin. The game will be FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff.

Helmet sticker to Lions 247.

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Michigan State Football re-offers 2021 4-star Safety Zakee Wheatley

Michigan State football has re-offered 2021 4-star Safety Zakee Wheatley today. Read more about this potential football recruit here.

[jwplayer FRQZ8SAf]

Mel Tucker has wasted no time during this recruiting season. Instead, he is going off with new offers and re-offering 2021 recruits. One recruit Mel Tucker re-offered is Zakee Wheatley. Today, Wheatley announced that he was re-offered by the Michigan State Spartans football program.

Wheatley stands at 6’2″ and weighs 180 pounds. He hails from Severn, MD, and currently plays for Archbishop Spalding high school. Wheatley ranks No. 15 in the state of Maryland amongst other top football recruits, according to 247 Sports composite rankings. He also ranks No. 21 amongst the top athlete recruits in Maryland in the 2021 recruiting class.

You can catch highlights of Wheatley here.

Earlier today, Mel Tucker and company re-offered 4-star DT Marcus Bradley. Stay locked on SpartansWire for more coverage of MSU football recruiting.

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