Jonathan Sutherland was the obvious choice, coach James Franklin said, to be Penn State’s first recipient of the number zero jersey.
Sutherland spoke Wednesday morning about what it means to him to be chosen for that honor.
"The individual wearing 0⃣ is a tough, dependable, disciplined, physical leader, who inspires teammates with his accountability & production."
Jonathan Sutherland was presented the 0⃣ jersey at practice today & will be the first Nittany Lion to wear the jersey. @jay_suth#WeAre pic.twitter.com/uuQQ714bXF
— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) October 17, 2020
“It’s it’s a blessing. It’s an honor,” Sutherland said.
“There’s definitely many guys that are qualified on the team for it. I just appreciate all the support and my team, my teammates ultimately choosing me. So it’s a great honor, and I’m really appreciative of it.”
The fact that he received so much support from his teammates when it came to wearing the number is special to Sutherland.
“It’s a blessing. I love my teammates,” he said. “I go, I try to work every single day and do the best and just … (show) support for them, and they likewise do the same for me. So just obviously hearing that, and it’s just a great honor, just to be looked up to like that by my teammates.”
Sutherland found out about getting picked to wear zero this past weekend.
“It was just like literally after practice on this past Saturday,” he said. “It was kind of like, surprise almost, like I didn’t really, I was surprised (it was) me. So they pretended at the end of practice so they kind of got us all. I’m pretty much surprised because we didn’t know when they were announcing it or whatnot.”
