Months away from his dream, incoming Penn State freshman Zakee Wheatley stays focused on goals
Zakee Wheatley came home from Maryland’s Archbishop Spalding High School in early May 2019 and gave his father a rundown of his day.
There was football practice, where the then-sophomore safety had grabbed a couple interceptions. There was a quiz that he thought he could’ve done a little better on. Oh, and, he had received his first Power 5 scholarship offer from Virginia.
“I’m like, ‘What?!’” recalled Zakee Wheatley Sr. “Like, you lead with that. And it wasn’t that he wasn’t excited. I think that it was kind of like, in his mind, he always knew (he’d have the opportunity to play college football).”
Zakee Wheatley Sr. remembers his son — now a 6-foot-2, 180-pound four-star safety in the 2021 class and an incoming Penn State freshman — attentively watching his youth football film with him as a 13-year-old. Zakee Wheatley would often tell his dad that he’d one day go to college on a football scholarship. With plans to move into his campus dorm room in early May, he’s now just a few months away from making good on that promise.
It took awhile for the offers to come, but they started pilling on as Zakee Wheatley went into his junior year — the list eventually growing to 24 schools. Still, Zakee Wheatley didn’t care for the fanfare that came with it all. All he wanted to do was play football.
By the time his junior season started, he was getting pulled out of class by college coaches around the country that would come visit Archbishop Spalding.
“It felt good at the beginning,” said Zakee Wheatley, the No. 22 safety and the No. 323 overall player in the 2021 247Sports Composite. “Coaches hitting you up — you’re seeing where’s the real love, where’s the fake love. Then, later on, of course it definitely started getting overwhelming. Texting all day, calling all day — even after I committed.”
But, no matter how much attention he started to receive, Zakee Wheatley didn’t stop elevating his play.
Kyle Schmitt — who’s been the head coach at Archbishop Spalding for eight years — said Zakee Wheatley’s ball skills are as elite as any player he’s ever coached.
“He’s not afraid to be physical,” Schmitt added. “He’s not afraid to shed blockers. … Zakee doesn’t shy away from contact. I think he’s just a really good football player and finds the football — kind of has a knack for the big plays.”
Schmitt was also happy with the extra exposure his program received because of Zakee Wheatley.
When recruiters came by Archbishop Spalding, other players would catch their attention, too.
“The amount of head coaches, the amount of staffs that Zakee brought through last winter was really cool for our younger kids,” Schmitt said. “And that’s how you build a program. A kid like Zakee really brings eyes to this junior class that we have currently. ... A lot of the young guys will be indebted to him in some capacity for the attention that he brought them.”
Having built early relationships with members of Penn State’s coaching staff, Zakee Wheatley told his dad last February that he was set on the Nittany Lions. Zakee Wheatley Sr. made his son wait two months to officially commit, though, because he wanted to make sure he was 100 percent sure of his decision.
Ultimately, Zakee Wheatley chose Penn State because of the trust he had in head coach James Franklin and the other coaches.
“They were genuine,” Zakee Wheatley said. “And I was told, ‘Go where you’re loved.’ And Penn State was pretty much showing me the love from the beginning.”
As he continues to train independently while eagerly waiting to arrive in State College, the “sky’s the limit” for Zakee Wheatley, his dad said — as long as he can “stay focused and not do anything stupid,” the elder Wheatley made sure to add.
Focus has never been an issue for Zakee Wheatley before, though.
Now, months away from being able to turn the dream he just knew would always come to fruition into reality, Zakee Wheatley’s goals for this fall are clear-cut.
“Really just overachieving in everything I do,” he said. “And of course, (getting) on the field and playing. And not only just playing, but being an impact player and playing how I play.”
This story was originally published January 23, 2021 at 7:00 AM.
