2024 NFL Draft Prospect Interview: Ian Wheeler, RB, Howard University

• Name: Ian Wheeler
• Position: RB/RS
• College: Howard University
• Height: 5’10”
• Weight: 205 lbs
• Twitter: @IanWheeler_26
• Instagram: iam_wheeler

What makes you a top prospect at your position in the 2024 NFL Draft? 

I would say that I’m a top prospect because of the versatility I have as a football player both offensively and on special teams.

At what age were you first interested in the sport of football?

I started playing football when I was around 6 years old.

What is one thing that NFL teams should know about you?

They should know that I’m someone that’s smart and works hard to get better at my craft every day.

If you could donate to one cause in the world, what would it be? 

I would donate to the organization I volunteered with while in school, Grassroots Health. It’s a health equity program that focuses on educating students in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades.

What is the best advice you have ever received? 

Control the controllables.

Who was your childhood hero? 

My mother was my childhood hero.

Who is the most underrated teammate in your locker room at your school? 

Probably Cam O’Neil. He never had a big role on the team playing wise but he was someone you could rely on to be on time, do his job, try to get better everyday, and will always have your back outside of football.

What is your biggest pet peeve? 

Micromanaging. If I was given a task, let me do the task. I was assigned to do that for a reason, I don’t need someone else telling me every step to take.

Who is your favorite teacher ever?

Dr. Jules Harrell. I only had him as a professor once my freshman year, but he has been one of my biggest supporters in and outside the classroom. Definitely someone that I know actually cares about me.

Overcoming adversity is what defines character, what was the hardest moment in your life to overcome? 

Mending my relationship with my mother. Coming from a single parent household I relied on my mother a lot. There were some things that happened when I was younger that I resented her for as I got older. It took me some time to open up to her and really understand where she was with her life when I was born and the decisions she had to make for the family’s sake. But that conversation resulted in us being closer than ever before.

Tell me something about your school and why it is so special to you?

Howard is a place where opportunities are endless and your life can change in a blink of an eye. I learned so much about myself and what I needed to do to be better than before, and for that I’m forever grateful that I got to go there.

If you could have any franchise restaurant in your house what would it be?

Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen.

What is your favorite snack food? 

Club Crackers.

What is your degree in? 

I got my degree in Psychology with a minor in Chemistry.

If you could sell yourself in one sentence what would you say? 

I am a player that’s smart, versatile, and willing to do anything to help the team win.

If you could compare your play to one player in the NFL who would it be? 

Right now, probably Travis Etienne because of his upright running and his ability to bend the corner around defenses.

What is your favorite game to play at the carnival/theme park?

There’s this one game at the Rodeo in Houston where you shoot out the star with a pellet gun. I never win but it’s always fun to do.

If you could have dinner with three people dead or alive, who would it be and why? 

My grandfather, my mother, and my grandmother. My grandfather passed away when my mother was a kid, so being able to be with all of them at the same time would be really cool to see and I feel like I might understand my family better.