Zakee Wheatley: S · Penn State · #6.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Zakee Wheatley
Plays like an extra linebacker near the line. Played for two head coaches at Penn State: James Franklin and Terry Smith. A game that shows it: 12 tackles and 1 tackle for loss against UCLA — Week 6, 2025.
Play style
Lives near the line of scrimmage as a de facto extra linebacker.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
74 tackles. 1 pass defended. 1 interception. 2 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
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| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Penn State | 74 | 51 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2024 | Penn State | 86 | 53 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 4 | 3 |
| 2023 | Penn State | 24 | 14 | 0.5 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| 2022 | Penn State | 24 | 20 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 2 |
| 2021 | Penn State | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| Career | 210 | 139 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 6 | 6 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 12 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 46-11vs Nevada | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 34-0vs Florida International | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 3 | W 52-6vs Villanova | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 24-30vs No. 6 Oregon | 10 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 37-42@ UCLA | 12 | 9 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 12 tackles |
| Wk 7 | L 21-22vs Northwestern | 9 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 24-25@ Iowa | 10 | 9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | L 14-38@ No. 1 Ohio State | 7 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | L 24-27vs No. 2 Indiana | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 28-10@ Michigan State | 3 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 37-10vs Nebraska | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | W 40-36@ Rutgers | 8 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 74 | 51 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
1%1 pass breakupsInterceptions
1interceptionsTackle volume
74tackles this seasonTFL rate
3%2 TFL74 tackles · 2 for loss · 1 pass breakup · 1 interception.
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 4.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Road5g | 8.0 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 6.5 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 5.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Terry Smith
Pass share
42.0%
339 pass / 469 run
Plays / game
62.2
13 games
Team sack rate
5.3%
318 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2025
74 tackles in 12 games, more tackles a game than most FBS defensive backs who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Former four-star. Now #158 at the position.
How it ended
Five seasons at Penn State, 210 tackles — drafted at #151 overall by the Carolina Panthers.
Four or fewer games in the first season, then ten or more.
Coaching lineage · 2021–2025
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: James Franklin → Terry Smith. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
Next stop · NFL
Carolina Panthers2026 NFL rookie season
Carolina Panthers2026 NFL rookie season
