Austin Wheatley (born November 16, 1977) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

. He was drafted in the 5th round 158th overall) in the

2000 NFL draft The 2000 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur U.S. college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 15– 16, 2000, at the Thea ...

by the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

Early life

Wheatley was born in

Milan, Illinois Milan ( ) is a village in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The population was 5,099 at the 2010 census. The village is located near the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa. History The village is on the Rock River in northwest Illinois ...

and attended

Rock Island High School Rock Island High School, also known as "Rocky", is a public four-year high school located in Rock Island, Illinois, United States. Rocky is within the Rock Island–Milan School District 41, and the school colors are crimson and gold. Administrati ...

Rock Island, Illinois Rock Island is a city in and the county seat of Rock Island County, Illinois, Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The original Rock Island, from which the city name is derived, is now called Rock Island Arsenal, Arsenal Island. The popul ...

. While there, he

lettered Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

in football as well as track and field. He was named First-team Division 5A All-State, All-Metro and All-Conference as both a tight end and punter. He was named to the Top 100 Illinois Seniors by the ''Champaign News-Gazette'' as a tight end. In 1994, he averaged 43 yards-per-punt and recorded nine

reception Reception is a noun form of ''receiving'', or ''to receive'' something, such as art, experience, information, people, products, or vehicles. It may refer to: Astrology * Reception (astrology), when a planet is located in a sign ruled by another p ...

s for 271 yards with three

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

s. He also set a school record with a 68-yard punt. While at Rock Island, Wheatley was also a member of the

National Honor Society The National Honor Society (NHS) is a nationwide organization for high school students in the United States and outlying territories, which consists of many chapters in high schools. Selection is based on four criteria: scholarship (academic achi ...

College career

Wheatley attended

where he played both tight end and punter. As a freshman in 1995, he

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

and was named the offensive scout team MVP against

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. In 1996, he played sparingly as a tight end and on special teams but recorded no statistics. In 1997, he played as a tight end and punter, early in the season. Midway through the season, he suffered and

hand A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered appendage located at the end of the forearm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs. A few other vertebrates such as the koala (which has two opposable thumbs on each "h ...

injury. For the season, as a tight end, he recorded seven receptions for 108 yards and one touchdown and as a punter he punted the ball five times with an average of 41 yards and the longest being 59 yards. Two of his five punts where downed inside the 20-yard line. He was named Special teams MVP against

Northern Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

and awarded the Offensive Hustle Award against

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. In 1998, he appeared in 11 games with one start, against

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. For the season he recorded nine receptions for 137 yards. He was awarded the Offensive Hustle award against

Iowa State Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

. As a senior in 1999, he appeared in 11 games with three starts. He recorded nine receptions for 103 yards. While at Iowa, Wheatley majored in art.

Professional career

Wheatley was selected in the 5th round (158th overall)

2000 NFL Draft The 2000 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur U.S. college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 15– 16, 2000, at the Thea ...

by the

. As a rookie, he appeared in the first four games of the 2000 season. On August 28, 2001, he was released by the Saints. On October 5, 2001, he was signed by the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

to their

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

. He was released 11 days later on October 16. On December 26, 2001, he was signed by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

to their practice squad. On May 23, 2002, he was released by the Cowboys. On October 2, 2002, he was signed by the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

to their practice squad. He was released a week later.

Personal life

On January 29, 2001, Wheatley and teammate

Tutan Reyes Tutankhamen Marqués Reyes (born October 28, 1977) is a former American football guard. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the fifth round of the 2000 NFL Draft. He played college football at Mississippi. He has played for the Carolina ...

where summoned to appear in court in regards to the beating of two men. The two players were alleged to have chased the two men after someone had broken into Reye's

Chevrolet Suburban The Chevrolet Suburban is a series of automobiles built by the Chevrolet division of General Motors. The name started in 1934 for the 1935 U.S. model year, making it the longest continuously used automobile nameplate in production. It has tra ...

at Wheatley's apartment complex. The victims alleged they were assaulted without warning. Deputies said the two were not involved in the break-in.

References

External links

Iowa Hawkeyes profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wheatley, Austin Living people 1977 births American football tight ends Iowa Hawkeyes football players New Orleans Saints players Denver Broncos players Dallas Cowboys players Oakland Raiders players Players of American football from Illinois People from Milan, Illinois