Still looking to impress
Citrus Valley’s Wheatley puts up numbers, hopes to gain notice
The numbers don’t lie. But, apparently sometimes they whisper.
For two seasons, Citrus Valley quarterback Dylan Wheatley has been producing yards and points at a remarkable clip. But his achievements have largely gone unnoticed by major college recruiters. For Wheatley, the only answer is to keep putting up those numbers.
During the past two seasons, Wheatley has thrown 64 touchdown passes in 16 games. He has thrown at least two TD passes in all but one game. Six times he has thrown for at least six touchdowns in a game.
“It’s baffling to me,” Citrus Valley coach Kurt Bruich said of the lack of recruiting interest. “Maybe he doesn’t look as big on tape as he is because our line is so big. But if you see him in person, he is all of 6-3 and 200-plus pounds. He is a college specimen.” It wasn’t always so. Wheatley didn’t begin to play competitive football until eighth grade, putting him behind the quarterbacks he would be competing against. His mother was concerned for his safety.
It wasn’t an unreasonable concern.
“When I was a freshman, I was about 5-6 and about 120 ,” Wheatley said. “I was smaller than just about everyone else.”
The growth would come, but Wheatley already had the other attributes that would make an impression on Bruich and quarterbacks coach Boyd Lium.
Transferring from Redlands East Valley to Citrus Valley meant Wheatley would have to sit out half of his sophomore season. That time, however, laid the groundwork for the past two seasons.
At REV, Bruich and Lium had groomed a parade of successful quarterbacks, and had developed a keen eye for the next one.
“The way he (Wheatley) approached learning was outstanding,” Lium said. “He’s very coachable. His knowledge of the offense and understanding of what we wanted to do is what set him apart.
“Of course, a lot of it has to do with arm talent. He has a great strong arm to be able to use that book study.”
The CIF transfer rules may have taken Wheatley off the field for half of his sophomore season, but it gave him a new perspective. Literally.
“I got to go in the (press) box,” Wheatley said. “I got a good look at coverages and what you have to do against them. From the field, it’s a lot different. You can only see so much when you’re down on the field.”
Wheatley showed he had the arm. He had the ability to reach for knowledge and grasp it. There was another quality Bruich was looking for, a quality all quarterbacks need, but a little more so on a Bruich team.
“Toughness,” Bruich said. “You’ve got to have it, especially in this offense. A lot of times, we’re just going to have those five blockers and if there are six guys coming, that sixth guy is your responsibility as the quarterback. You’re going to get hit sometimes. The question was whether he could take it.”
Wheatley could.
Oddly, though, the biggest hit came three weeks ago, not on a dropback or scramble, but on a handoff. A missed exchange led to a scramble on the ground for the loose ball, and Wheatley took a shot to his neck that would send him to the hospital.
“First time I’ve ever been in an ambulance,” Wheatley said. “Definitely the scariest thing that’s happened. I couldn’t move for a while.”
A couple hours later, the injury was determined to be whiplash with no structural damage, and the neck brace came off.
If there were any lingering effects, they haven’t shown. Wheatley responded with back-to-back 300-yard passing games, tossing 10 touchdowns with a single interception in 63 attempts.
Wheatley said his career has flown by, and he will have a chance Saturday, in a showdown with Cajon, to cap that career with a share of the Citrus Belt League title. Then he can look full-time at a hopeful but uncertain future.
Bruich said the shuffling of the sports calendar could play in Wheatley’s favor, as college teams go through their season of quarterback transfers.
However, he has also advised Wheatley that making a stop at a junior college could be a brief, but productive alternative.
Like any good quarterback, Wheatley is ready to survey the field and take what’s open.
“Yeah, I’m comfortable with that (JC football),” he said. “It’s definitely a step up and I can show what I can do.”