{"id":641448,"date":"2026-04-30T22:13:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T22:13:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/641448\/"},"modified":"2026-04-30T22:13:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T22:13:08","slug":"a-penn-state-rookie-db-on-adjusting-to-the-nfl-i-cant-wait-to-show-my-speed-to-carolina","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/641448\/","title":{"rendered":"A Penn State rookie DB on adjusting to the NFL: \u2018I can\u2019t wait to show my speed to Carolina\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Carolina<\/a> likely got one of the best ballhawks on last season\u2019s Penn State<\/a> team at a discount.<\/p>\n

Former PSU safety Zakee Wheatley<\/a>, a fifth-round draft pick of the Panthers<\/a> over the weekend, made 28 starts for the Nittany Lions<\/a> during the last two seasons.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

The 6-3, 203-pound Wheatley also produced 170 combined tackles in 2024 and 2025.<\/p>\n

During his time at Penn State, the defensive back accounted for 11 turnovers \u2013 six interceptions, three interceptions and two fumble recoveries.<\/p>\n

Wheatley, who can play in the box or patrol the deep middle, steps into an ideal situation at Carolina.<\/p>\n

He will likely compete with former PSU defensive back Nick Scott<\/a> for one of the Panthers\u2019 starting safety spots.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust a big, long, physical guy,\u201d Panthers general manager Dan Campbell said after Carolina selected Wheatley.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe fits the DNA we want, the the type of competitor that we want. He can play the post, he can play up in the box, he can do a lot of things for our defense that we\u2019re excited about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Wheatley, who did not run a 40-yard dash at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis<\/a>, said he is accustomed to people doubting his speed.<\/p>\n

But given the large number of turnovers he was involved in creating at Penn State, Wheatley clearly has good instincts.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy whole life, I\u2019ve been someone who might have been doubted just based on circumstances,\u201d Wheatley said after he was picked. <\/a><\/p>\n

MORE BY<\/p>\n

BOB FLOUNDERS<\/p>\n

Penn State recruiting: Lions\u2019 2027 class grows to 13 with addition of 4-star Pa. prospect Apr. 30, 2026, 5:36 p.m.<\/a><\/p>\n

Penn State lacks proven DEs, but Christian Smith is excited about their talent level Apr. 30, 2026, 2:40 p.m.<\/a><\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

\u201cThen I was someone that \u2014I\u2019m known as, you know, step foot in our organization and give it everything I have.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I would say about the speed is that you can make up with football IQ and intelligence.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, you know, I\u2019ve been around the game for a long time, constantly getting stronger and faster, and I can\u2019t wait to show my speed in Carolina.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read the original article on pennlive.com<\/a>. Add pennlive.com<\/a> as a Preferred Source by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Carolina likely got one of the best ballhawks on last season\u2019s Penn State team at a discount. Former…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":641449,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[559],"tags":[64,63,17412,934,593,150086,211061,5357,3374,85,5991,251938],"class_list":["post-641448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-carolina","tag-indianapolis","tag-nfl","tag-nick-scott","tag-nittany-lions","tag-panthers","tag-penn-state","tag-sports","tag-the-panthers","tag-zakee-wheatley"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/641448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=641448"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/641448\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/641449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=641448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=641448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=641448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}