Austin Wheatley

Austin Wheatley (born November 16, 1977) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Iowa Hawkeyes. He was selected in the fifth round of the 2000 NFL draft by the New Orleans Saints.

Early life Wheatley was born in Milan, Illinois and attended Rock Island High School in Rock Island, Illinois. While there, he lettered 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 receptions for 271 yards with three touchdowns. 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.

College career Wheatley attended Iowa where he played both tight end and punter. As a freshman in 1995, he redshirted and was named the offensive scout team MVP against Wisconsin. 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 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 and awarded the Offensive Hustle Award against Illinois. In 1998, he appeared in 11 games with one start, against Indiana. For the season he recorded nine receptions for 137 yards. 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 to their practice squad. On December 26, 2001, he was signed by the Dallas Cowboys to their practice squad. The two players were alleged to have chased the two men after someone had broken into Reye's Chevrolet Suburban at Wheatley's apartment complex. The victims alleged they were assaulted without warning. Deputies said the two were not involved in the break-in.