As a senior he played strong safety and running back, registering 97 tackles (led the team), 669 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns.
He also missed time at the end of the year, in order to deal with the death of his younger brother (Derrek), who was killed in a drive-by shooting.
In 1998, after considering that he was the fifth cornerback on the depth chart and that Deion Sanders and Kevin Smith would be difficult to replace as starters, he asked the coaches to switch him to free safety.
In 1999, he suffered a knee injury while playing against the Indianapolis Colts in the eighth game, that placed him on the injured reserve list on November 16.
In 2003, Wheaton signed with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League and was their starting defensive half back.
[9] His younger brother, Derrek, also attended McClintock High School playing varsity football, basketball, and baseball.
[10] The Arizona Junior High School Basketball Tournament honors his memory with the Derrek Wheaton MVP Award.
His other cousin Marquese Wheaton played for the University of Southern Mississippi, and signed as an undrafted free agent with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the 2012 training camp.