Penn State football picks up another 4-star recruit in athlete Zakee Wheatley
Penn State football picked up its third commitment of the day and fourth in the last 24 hours Friday afternoon. Four-star athlete Zakee Wheatley announced his decision to join the 2021 recruiting class via a statement on his personal Twitter account.
Wheatley is the third four-star recruit to join the class in the last 24 hours and the fourth currently in the class. He’s the seventh overall member of the group.
The four-star athlete plays for Archbishop Spalding High School in Severn, Maryland, where he plays on both sides of the ball. He recorded 803 receiving yards and seven touchdowns on 56 catches as a wide receiver along with 28 tackles and three interceptions as a defensive back in 2019, according to MaxPreps.
He’s listed at 6-foot-2 and 180 pounds on his 247Sports profile with 24 scholarship offers to his name including one from Notre Dame.
Penn State co-offensive coordinator, tight ends coach, and offensive recruiting coordinator Tyler Bowen is listed as Wheatley’s primary recruiter.
Brian Dohn of 247Sports projects Wheatley as a multi-year starter at a top 20 program in his February evaluation of the four-star athlete.
“Frame and skill set offers position versatility as safety or receiver,” Dohn’s evaluation on Wheatley’s profile reads. “Athletic with loose hips. Changes direction well. Easily transitions from backpedal as cornerback. Gets out of breaks quickly and is decisive. Tracks ball well and shows good ball skills. Fearless in going after ball over middle. Releases quickly on line as receiver. Must increase strength so he can be effective in traffic down the field. As corner, has to work on driving on ball. Becoming more physical on both sides important. More effective jamming as corner needed. Multi-year starter at Top 20 program.”
Wheatley’s commitment has the Nittany Lions all the way up to No. 12 in the country and fourth in the Big Ten according to 247Sports’ Composite team rankings. They were 37th and 10th, respectively, prior to their four commitments this week.
