metre hurdles time at 13.77 seconds and third fastest outdoor 100 meters at 10.46 seconds. Gradually, succeeding athletes have surpassed his times, and after the 2007 season the 110 meter hurdle time ranked fourth best and the 100 meter dash time was fifth. College statistics Professional career New York Giants Dan Reeves era (1995–1996) Wheatley was drafted by the New York Giants in the first round of the 1995 NFL Draft with the seventeenth overall selection. He held out for 17 days before signing a five-year contract with the team. The terms included a $2.3 million signing bonus and escalating base salaries totaling over $2.9 million. The negotiations were prolonged in part because of extensive family involvement. Wheatley set no goals for himself and lived by his grandmother's motto on preparing oneself: "You can set your sails, but you can't set the wind". The Giants viewed Wheatley as their running back of the future, since Rodney Hampton was in the final year of his contract. Despite the original visions, Wheatley was used sparingly and started only eight games over the course of four seasons with the Giants. Off the field, Wheatley moved his half-brother with him to New Jersey to keep him out of the tumultuous environment and to provide him a strong learning environment. In 1995 and 1996, under Dan Reeves the Giants had losing seasons and relied heavily on Rodney Hampton who received the bulk of the carries on rushing plays. In 1995, running back Herschel Walker received more passing downs and in 1996 fullback Charles Way was a main weapon. Wheatley returned kickoffs for the 1995 and 1996, with 10 returns for 18.6 yards per return in 1995 and 23 returns for 21.9 yards per return in 1996. While Hampton led the team in rushing with 827 yards to Wheatley's 400 yards in 1996, Wheatley's 503 return yards and 51 yards receiving gave him the team all-purpose yards leadership. However, Wheatley had 6 fumbles on only 147 touches (112 rushes, 12 receptions, and 23 kickoff returns). The drafting of Wheatley had been hotly contested. Some Giant draft war-room personnel had wanted to select Korey Stringer and others had an interest in Rashaan Salaam when the Giants' selection came. After Wheatley was selected with the seventeenth pick, running backs Napoleon Kaufman, James Stewart and Rashaan Salaam were chosen with the eighteenth, nineteenth and twenty-first selections, respectively. Reeves made