Jon Wheeler joined the Wofford football staff on January 30, 2017 as an assistant coach. Wheeler, a 2005 Wofford graduate, works with the outside linebackers. In 2018 he also added special teams coordinator duties. He recruits the Charlotte area, along with western South Carolina and eastern and central Tennessee.
In his first season on staff, the total defense was second in the Southern Conference and 26th in the nation. Terrance Morris was fifth on the team with 64 total tackles, along with 4.5 tackles for loss. Daryl Vining added 48 tackles and Jireh Wilson had 47 tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss. The team posted a 10-3 overall record and won the Southern Conference Championship with a 7-1 mark.
He has spent the previous two seasons as assistant head football coach and assistant athletic director at Hammond School in Columbia, S.C. In 2015, the team was the AAA State Champions and had the top ranked total defense in the state.
Wheeler was the head football coach at Heathwood Hall for four seasons (2011-2014). The team made postseason appearances in all four seasons. Prior to being named head coach at Heathwood Hall, he spent the 2009 and 2010 seasons as the defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach at Hammond. In both seasons the team won the AAA state championship and were the best total defense in the state.
He also previously coached at North Greenville University, where he worked with the defensive backs and special teams, and was a graduate assistant at South Carolina. While with the Gamecocks, he assisted for one season with the linebackers and two seasons with the defensive line. Under head coach Steve Spurrier, the team played in the 2006 Liberty Bowl and the 2008 Outback Bowl.
A four-year letterman at Wofford (2001-04), Wheeler was part of the Terriers’ first Southern Conference Championship in 2003. During his senior year at Wofford, he played in all eleven games with 20 total tackles, including one for loss, and a forced fumble. The team was 12-2 overall and reached the semifinals of the NCAA Playoffs.
Wheeler graduated summa cum laude from Wofford College with a degree in accounting. He was named CoSIDA Academic All-District in 2003 and 2004, along with Southern Conference Fall All-Academic Team recognition as a junior and senior. As a senior, he was recipient of the team’s academic award.
A native of Columbia, South Carolina, he graduated from Lexington High School where he played wide receiver, quarterback, cornerback and safety. He also earned a Master of International Hospitality and Tourism Management degree from the University of South Carolina in 2010.
