One of the names that has consistently been on the list of standout performers through the first half of fall camp has been sophomore wide receiver Bryce Wheaton.

Wheaton, 6-foot-3, 218-pounds, played only 211 snaps across 11 games in 2019 and at times showed flashes but dealt with inconsistency that can be expected for a young player given his first taste of college football.

He did make one of the most significant plays of the season however when he hauled in a 50-yard touchdown against Kansas State that proved to be the difference.

That carried over into the beginning portions of the spring prior to the closure of things due to COVID-19 and continued through workouts when things did resume. That has been the case through all but one of the fall camp sessions to date as well as the sophomore has blossomed.

“He’s got talent, he’s got the size, he’s got the speed, he just has to put it together,” head coach Neal Brown said. “He’s a little bit further ahead than maybe where I thought he would be.”

The development of Wheaton doesn’t come as a surprise to Brown as he has watched his confidence develop as he continues to make plays in a practice setting.

“He has made plays and you can see him before your eyes gaining some confidence. I’m not totally surprised, I knew he was going to be a really good player here I just didn’t know exactly when it was going to happen,” Brown said.

Now, Wheaton hasn’t arrived just yet as he has to be able to take what he is doing in practice and carry it over to the games but he continues to show growth on and off the field. That is what the coaches wanted to see out of him and he is on a pathway toward making the most of it.

The trick now will be capturing that consistency moving forward.

“My belief is that most people that perform well in practice or scrimmages that carries over into games and I expect that to be the case with him,” he said.

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