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Wharton's Cal Career Game Highs
Receptions: 8 (twice, last vs. Oregon State, 2017)
Receiving Yards: 156 (at North Carolina, 2017)
Receiving TDs: 1 (seven times, last at USC, 2018)
Long Reception: 67TD (at North Carolina, 2017)
Pass Completions: 1 (at Colorado, 2017)
Pass Attempts: 1 (twice, last at Colorado, 2017)
Passing Yards: 15 (at Colorado, 2017)
Passing TDs: 1 (at Colorado, 2017)
Long Pass: 15TD (at Colorado, 2017)
Rushes: 1 (three times, last at Washington State, 2018)
Rushing Yards: 8 (vs. North Carolina, 2018)
Long Rush: 8 (vs. North Carolina, 2018)
Punt Returns: 4 (vs. UCLA, 2016)
Punt Return Yards: 36 (vs. Washington, 2016)
Long Punt Return: 35 (vs. Oregon, 2018)
All-Purpose Yards: 156 (at North Carolina, 2017)
Points: 6 (six times, last vs. Oregon State, 2017)
Tackles: 1 (five times, last vs. Stanford, 2018)
Wharton's Collegiate Career Game Highs
Receptions: 8 (twice, last for Cal vs. Oregon State, 2017)
Receiving Yards: 156 (for Cal at North Carolina, 2017)
Receiving TDs: 1 (eight times, last for Cal at USC, 2018)
Long Reception: 67TD (for Cal at North Carolina, 2017)
Pass Completions: 1 (for Cal at Colorado, 2017)
Pass Attempts: 1 (twice, last for Cal at Colorado, 2017)
Passing Yards: 15 (for Cal at Colorado, 2017)
Passing TDs: 1 (for Cal at Colorado, 2017)
Long Pass: 15TD (for Cal at Colorado, 2017)
Rushes: 1 (three times, last for Cal at Washington State, 2018)
Rushing Yards: 8 (for Cal vs. North Carolina)
Long Rush: 8 (for Cal vs. North Carolina)
Punt Returns: 4 (for Cal vs. UCLA, 2016)
Punt Return Yards: 36 (for Cal vs. Washington, 2016)
Long Punt Return: 35 (for Cal vs. Oregon, 2018)
All-Purpose Yards: 156 (for Cal at North Carolina, 2017)
Points: 6 (seven times, last for Cal vs. Oregon State, 2017)
Tackles: 1 (five times, last for Cal vs. Stanford, 2018)
Collegiate Career (2014-18)
• Played in 44 games with 26 starts and combined for 150 receptions and 1730 yards receiving with eight touchdown catches during his collegiate career at Tennessee (2014) and Cal (2016-18), while adding 34 punt returns for 221 yards and three rushes for 10 yards to total 1961 all-purpose yards
• Posted career highs of 67 receptions, 871 yards receiving and five touchdown receptions as a 2017 junior, while adding his lone career throws and completing 1-of-2 passes for 15 yards and one touchdown
• Opened his junior season at North Carolina by recording a career-high 156 yards receiving and all-purpose yards while equaling a career-best with one touchdown catch on a 67-yarder that was the longest reception of his career
• Had a career-high-tying single touchdown catch in eight contests
• Had a career-high-tying eight receptions both as a junior against Arizona and Oregon State
• Rushed a single time on three occasions vs. Washington State as a junior, as well as against North Carolina and at Washington State as a senior, picking up a career-high and career-long eight yards against the Tar Heels
• Had a career high of four punt returns vs. UCLA as a sophomore, while his 36 punt return yards against Washington the same season were also a career high and his 35-yard punt return vs. Oregon as a 2018 senior a career long
• Had a career-high-tying two tackles as both a junior and senior and a single tackle in a game five times
Cal (2015-18)
• Played in 35 games with 22 starts and contributed 145 receptions, 1666 yards receiving and seven touchdown catches
• Also registered 34 punt returns and 221 punt return yards, three rushes and 10 yards rushing to total 1897 all-purpose yards
• Posted career and team highs of 67 receptions, 871 yards receiving and five touchdown catches while playing in a career-high-tying all 12 games as a 2017 junior with the 67 catches ranking ninth on Cal's all-time list
• Had career highs of two rushes and 15 yards rushing for the season, as well as a career-long 35-yard punt return against Oregon as a 2018 senior
• Opened his junior season at North Carolina by recording a career-high 156 receiving and all-purpose yards while equaling a career-best with one touchdown catch on a 67-yarder that was the longest reception of his career
• Also had a career-high-tying single touchdown catch in six other contests as a sophomore against Oregon; vs. Ole Miss, at Oregon, at Colorado and vs. Oregon State in his junior campaign; and at USC as a senior
• Had a career-high eight receptions twice as a junior against Arizona and Oregon State
• Had a career high four punt returns vs. UCLA as a 2016 sophomore, while his 36 punt return yards against Washington the same season were a career high
• Threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Kanawai Noa on his second career pass attempt as a junior at Colorado after an incompletion the first time he threw the ball in his career the same season against USC
• Rushed a single time on three occasions vs. Washington State as a junior, as well as against North Carolina and at Washington State as a senior, picking up a career-high and career-long eight yards on his single run against the Tar Heels
• Had a career-high-tying two tackles as both a junior and senior and a single tackle in a game five times
• Led or co-led Cal in receptions 14 times and receiving yards on 10 occasions
• On the Biletnikoff Award watch list honoring the nation's top receiver as both a junior and senior
• Changed his uniform to No. 17 beginning with the 2016 season after wearing No. 7 in his first campaign with the Cal program in 2015 and 2016 spring practices
Senior (2018)
• On the Biletnikoff Award watch list
• Named third-team Preseason All-Pac-12 as a punt returner by Athlon Sports
• Played in a career-high-tying 12 games including a career-high 11 starts and was second on the team with 50 receptions for a team-high 502 yards receiving with one touchdown grab, while adding 11 punt returns for 68 punt return yards as well as two rushes for 15 yards to total 585 all-purpose yards
• Led or co-led Cal in receptions seven times and receiving yards on six occasions
• Also had a career-high-tying two tackles
• Had a season-high-tying six receptions for 68 yards against Oregon as well as a career-long 35-yard punt return that was also a season-best for punt return yards in addition to one tackle
• Had a season-high-tying six catches for 61 yards against Colorado
• Had five receptions for a season-high 80 yards at Oregon State including a 55-yard reception that was Cal's longest play from the line of scrimmage in 2018
• Had five catches for 45 yards against Washington
• Had five catches for 35 yards against UCLA
• Had four catches for 47 yards and one rush for seven yards at Washington State
• Had four catches for 43 yards and two rushes for a loss of three yards at Arizona
• Had four receptions for 34 yards as well as three punt returns for 28 yards vs. Idaho State
• Recorded four catches for 24 yards and had two punt returns for one yard at BYU
• Opened the campaign with three catches for 18 yards, one rush for eight yards and three punt returns for seven yards against North Carolina
• Recorded two catches for 34 yards including his lone scoring grab of the season on a 29-yarder at USC
• Had two receptions for 13 yards against Colorado
• Had a career-high-tying single tackle against Oregon and Stanford
• Led or co-led his team (all at Cal) in receptions 14 times and receiving yards on 10 occasions
• Did not play in the spring game
Junior (2017)
• Added to the watch list for the Biletnikoff Award in November
• Posted career and team highs of 67 receptions and 871 yards receiving, as well as a career-high five touchdown catches that were second on the squad while playing in a career-high-tying all 12 games with 10 starts
• Ranked ninth on Cal's all-time single-season list with his 67 catches
• Ranked among Pac-12 and NCAA per game leaders in both receptions (5.6, 4th Pac-12, 36th NCAA) and receiving yards (72.6, 5th Pac-12, 47th NCAA)
• His 13.0 yards per reception average and 955 all-purpose yards were both second on the team while he was the squad's lone punt returner with nine punt returns for a career-high 89 yards and rushed once for a loss of five yards
• Led or co-led Cal in receptions seven times and receiving yards on four occasions
• Contributed a team-high-tying 13 of Cal's 50 explosive plays from the line of scrimmage with a team-high all 13 on receptions and at least one in nine of 12 contests including a 67-yard touchdown reception at North Carolina that was the longest catch of his career as well as Cal's second-longest pass play and third-longest Cal play overall of the season from the line of scrimmage
• Added two tackles
• Registered a career-high-tying and team season-high-tying eight receptions for 121 yards and a career-high-tying one touchdown grab as well as one punt return for 19 yards for 140 all-purpose yards vs. Oregon State
• Also had a career-high-tying and team season-high-tying eight catches for 96 yards while adding one punt return for 10 yards for 106 all-purpose yards against Arizona
• Had seven receptions for 61 yards along with one punt return for 14 yards to total 75 all-purpose yards in the season finale at UCLA
• Also had seven receptions for 58 yards as well as a career-high-tying one tackle at Stanford
• Had six catches for 86 yards as well as one punt return for three yards to total 89 all-purpose yards against USC, while adding a career-high-tying one tackle and attempting the first pass of his career
• Also had six catches for 79 yards and a career-high-tying one touchdown as well as one punt return for five yards to total 84 all-purpose yards at Colorado, while also throwing a 15-yard touchdown pass to fellow receiver Kanawai Noa on his second career pass attempt that made him the first Cal wide receiver to throw a touchdown pass since Keenan Allen in 2010 and the first Cal non-quarterback to throw a touchdown pass since Vincenzo D'Amato in 2013
• Opened the campaign with arguably the most impactful game of his career totaling five receptions for a career-high and team season-high 156 yards receiving and all-purpose yards while equaling a career-best with one touchdown catch on the 67-yard reception to earn Cal's Offensive Player of the Game honors
• Also had five receptions for 57 yards and one touchdown against Ole Miss, as well as five caches for 46 yards against Weber State
• Registered four catches for 59 yards receiving, his lone rush of the season for a loss of five yards, and a season-high-tying two punt returns for a season-high 31 yards to total 85 all-purpose yards vs. Washington State, with all of his punt return yards coming on a season-long 31-yarder
• Recorded four catches for 44 yards receiving and one touchdown while serving as a game captain at Oregon, adding a season-high-tying two punt returns for seven punt return yards to total 51 all-purpose yards
• Had two catches for eight yards at Washington
• A Jonathan and Judy Hoff Football Scholar-Athlete of the Week
• Had four catches for 40 yards receiving in the spring game including the longest play from scrimmage of the event when he and Chase Forrest hooked up on a 30-yard passing play
Sophomore (2016)
• Played in 11 games with one start and contributed 28 receptions for 293 yards receiving with one touchdown catch while also leading the squad with a career-high 14 punt returns for 64 yards, ranking seventh in the Pac-12 with an average of 4.6 yards per punt return
• Finished with 357 all-purpose yards
• Registered six catches for a season-high 86 yards including his longest reception of the campaign of 35 yards at San Diego State, while adding two punt returns for zero return yards
• Totaled seven catches for 55 yards and his first career touchdown reception at Cal vs. Oregon
• Other receiving totals came vs. Hawai'i (3-47), at Oregon State (3-37), vs. Utah (3-29), vs. Washington (2-15), at USC (2-13), at Washington State (1-11) and vs. Stanford (1-0)
• Had two punt returns for a career-high 36 yards vs. Washington including a season-long 29-yard return while his four punt returns for two yards vs. UCLA were a career-best
• Other punt return totals came vs. Stanford (3-14), vs. Hawai'i (2-1) and at Oregon State (1-11)
• Had a career-high-tying one tackle vs. Washington
• Contributed four receptions for 43 yards in the spring game including a nine-yard touchdown catch from Max Gilliam on the final Gold team drive of the game for a 37-32 lead before the Blue squad responded by scoring on its final drive for a 38-37 victory
Sophomore (2015)
• Redshirted
• Did not play
• Required to sit out the season due to NCAA transfer rules after transferring to Cal from Tennessee
Tennessee (2014)
• Played in nine games with two starts and made five catches for 64 yards receiving and one touchdown
• Scored a touchdown on his longest catch at Tennessee on a 49-yard pass from tailback Marlin Lane in a TaxSlayer Bowl win over Iowa while making his second career start with the 49 yards receiving also a single-game Tennessee career high
• Made a Tennessee career-high three catches for 10 yards against Chattanooga, while adding one catch for five yards vs. Alabama
• Made his first collegiate start at Vanderbilt
• Wore No. 4
Independence HS (Class of 2014)
• Put up huge career numbers during his 2012 junior and 2013 senior seasons, combining for 3,999 all-purpose yards (1,423 receiving, 1,207 kick return, 848 rushing, 521 punt return) and 35 touchdowns with 12 rushing, 12 receiving and 11 on returns
• Selected to play in the Offense-Defense All-American Bowl after his seniore campaign while he was also a first-team All-Midstate Class 6A All-State selection as a defensive back and an All-Midstate pick as a kick returner while adding honorable mention All-Southeast honors from the HSGC Awards
• Totaled 2,391 all-purpose yards as a senior for a team that finished 9-4 overall and reached the quarterfinals of the Class 6A state playoffs, catching 62 passes for 1,093 yards receiving and eight touchdown receptions, rushing for 518 yards and nine touchdowns on 58 carries, returning 18 kickoffs for 552 yards and 26 punts for 228 yards with a combined five return scores
• Recorded 23 total touchdowns as a senior including at least one in each contest
• Completed 2-of-5 passing attempts for 45 yards and one touchdown as a senior
• Also had 48 tackles, six interceptions, seven passes defended and one fumble recovery that he returned 98 yards for a touchdown on defense as a senior
• Played both as a dual-threat quarterback and a wide receiver as a junior for a 6-5 squad that reached the first round of the Class 6A state playoffs when he completed 32-of-57 passes for 399 yards and four touchdowns while adding 300 yards rushing and three touchdowns on the ground on 60 carries
• Totaled 1,608 all-purpose yards as a junior, adding 21 receptions 330 yards and four touchdowns as well as 655 kick return yards and 293 yards on punt returns with five touchdowns on returns
• Also had 43 tackles, two interceptions, five passes defended and two blocked field goals on defense as a junior
• Registered single-game career highs of eight receptions and 166 yards receiving with a career-high-tying two touchdown catches in the season opener of his senior season vs. Kenwood, while his two scoring grabs vs. Summit the same season and Franklin as a junior also equaled a career best
• Recorded a single-game career-high 483 all-purpose yards and five total touchdowns as a senior vs. Dickson County with a career-high 213 kick return yards and two touchdowns on three returns, 155 yards receiving and one touchdown catch on seven receptions, a career-high 108 yards rushing, a career-high-tying two touchdown runs and seven punt return yards
• Also had a career-high-thing two scores on the ground vs. Marshall County as a senior
• Had a single-game career high 10 tackles vs. Overton as a senior, while other defensive single-game career highs also came as a senior with two interceptions and one fumble recovery vs. Rossview
• Had single-game career highs of two blocked field goals vs. Blackman and three passes defended against Page as a junior
• An All-American in track and field as a 2014 senior, with his 4x400-meter relay team finishing fourth nationally at the U.S. Track and Field Junior Olympics
• Attended Christ Presbyterian Academy before transferring to Independence High School
• Wore No. 3
Recruiting Notes (Class of 2015)
Stars: ESPN (4), Rivals (4), Scout (3), 247 Sports (3), 247 Sports Composite (3)
National Overall Player Ratings: 247Sports Composite (490), 247Sports (882)
National Athlete Ratings: ESPN (41), 247Sports Composite (43), 247Sports (72)
National Wide Receiver Ratings: Rivals (52), Scout (188)
Regional Overall Player Ratings: ESPN (167)
South Wide Receiver Ratings: Scout (71)
Tennessee Overall Player Ratings: ESPN (8), Rivals (9), 247Sports Composite (10), 247Sports (17)
Tennessee Wide Receiver Ratings: Scout (2)
Ratings/Scout Grades: 247Sports Composite (0.8693), 247Sports (85), ESPN (81), Rivals (5.8)
• Selected as one of Middle Tennessee’s Dandy Dozen top college football prospects for the 2013 calendar year
Other
• Full name is Victor LaRoy Wharton III
• Born May 31, 1995
• Son of Victor Jr. and Robin Wharton
• Father of son, Victor IV, and daughter, Remi, with fiancé Allie DeSanto
• Uncle, Brandon Wharton, played college basketball at Tennessee in the late 1990’s
• Major is social welfare
Last Updated
March 19, 2019
