Last modified: Monday, April 28, 2008 11:39 AM EDT Pats get corner in Wheatley BY MARK FARINELLA SUN CHRONICLE STAFF FOXBORO - Terrence Wheatley had three wrist surgeries over the span of his collegiate career at Colorado. But to him, that's yesterday's news. "It's not an issue at all," the cornerback said Saturday after the Patriots made him their second-round draft selection. "I played with it for a whole year. It's not a big deal. I played the whole year with it and I proved I could play with it. I'm completely healthy, so I'll go out there in training camp and see what I could do." If Wheatley sounded just a little defensive about a health-related question, he probably had good reason. He's had more of his share of injuries since enrolling at Colorado and even missed a season in the middle of his career because of one of his wrist surgeries. And yet he still took on as much extra duty as he could on special teams, almost as if he had to prove to the world that he had the personal resolve to overcome his body's occasional failings. "I always wanted to play football as a kid, but my parents thought I was a little bit too small for that," he said via conference call. "You know how moms are they don't want their little babies to get hurt. I'm the oldest and they didn't want the oldest to get hurt. So I ran track and I always wanted to work on my speed. Speed kills, especially at this position. It's very difficult to make plays if you don't have speed." Clocked at a 4.42-second run in the 40-yard dash, Wheatley clearly has speed to burn. Fortunately for him, he was able to use some of that as a football player at Plano East (Texas) High School, where he was an all-state honorable mention at cornerback, and he went on to a standout career at Colorado despite his injury troubles. In fact, he excelled not only as a cornerback, but also as a kick returner. "It also shows my toughness, too," he said. "If you look at the number of plays I can play, on defense I rarely come out. And then I'm still on a couple of special teams outside of field goal. That does say a lot about you as a football player, not just as an athlete. You have to be a real tough guy to do that, because you're playing an extra 30 snaps a game." Wheatley believes his willingness to play on special teams is an asset. "It helps a lot," he said. "When you come in as a rookie, number one, you've got to be able to play multiple positions. They don't want somebody that plays just one. So when you have multiple things that you can do, it definitely adds to your draft value." He has 14 career interceptions and is highly regarded not only for his speed, but how he uses it. "My style of play is very consistent," he said. "I don't give up many big plays, and I try to make as many big plays as possible. I don't try to pattern my play after anybody, but I do try to learn from pretty much every cornerback in the league. The corners in the league are definitely there for a reason." Wheatley spent a low-key Saturday with friends and family at home in Texas, not sure if he would be selected on the first day or today, in the third round, as he was originally projected. "I really wanted to just go into it and enjoy the moment with my family and my friends," he said. "It was a situation that a lot of people don't get an opportunity to enjoy, so I didn't want to worry about it too much and to let whatever happened happen. "I just wanted somebody to give me a chance," he added, "and the Patriots gave that to me."