Penn State football safety Zakee Wheatley has declared for the 2026 NFL Draft, he announced on Wednesday. Wheatley spent five seasons with the Nittany Lions and started every game in the last two seasons. He will opt out of the Bad Boy Mowers Pin Stripe Bowl.

Wheatley has appeared in every Penn State game from his redshirt freshman season onward, but overtook a starting safety spot going into his redshirt junior campaign, with KJ Winston in and out of the lineup due to injuries.

The Crofton, Maryland, native totaled 170 tackles, 4.5 tackles-for-loss, one sack, one forced fumble, and four interceptions in the last two seasons combined. He blossomed into a true anchor and leader in the secondary over his time in Happy Valley.

Wheatley picked off Iowa quarterback Mark Gronowski on the Hawkeyes’ third play from scrimmage in week eight, giving the Nittany Lions a sliver of hope in the first game of the post-James Franklin era. While that game didn’t end in a win, that interception is a representation of Wheatley’s ability to rouse the defense for a fighting chance.

Wheatley joins Zane Durant as the only Nittany Lions to declare for the draft. Zero Penn State players have announced their intentions to enter the transfer portal.

About the Author

Oscar Orellana

Oscar is a third-year broadcast journalism student from Los Angeles. He's probably at the movies. He mostly writes about Penn State football. Email him at oscar@onwardstate.com.

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