ALTOONA, Pa. -- In April, the NCAA approved college football teams being able to utilize No. 0 to reduce the amount of players on a team who shared a jersey number.
At Penn State, where the jerseys have changed little over the course of the 100-plus years the program has existed, a new number is very much a big deal, and James Franklin made the choice of who gets to wear it even more significant.
"It's going to be who we feel is the most valuable special-teams guy, not only from a production standpoint but also from a culture perspective," Franklin said.
That player will be Jonathan Sutherland, a special-teams captain and back-up safety.
"The individual wearing 0⃣ is a tough, dependable, disciplined, physical leader, who inspires teammates with his accountability & production."
— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) October 17, 2020
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
"It's a blessing. It's an honor," Sutherland said during a press conference Wednesday. "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 for it."
It was a hotly contested battle to be the first to wear No. 0, and Franklin fielded calls and texts from players who wanted it since the announcement was made.
"After the announcement was made and Sutherland got the No. 0, all those guys were like, 'I'm disappointed but I get, it's Sutherland,' " Franklin said. "You look at the number of reps he played on special teams last year and how he graded out and just his approach and his mentality and his demeanor, has been awesome."
Sutherland blocked two punts against Idaho last season and recorded 23 tackles in 2019, with many coming as a member of the punt team. It was his teammates and the coaches who picked Sutherland for the honor and it's something the redshirt junior isn't taking lightly.
"It's a blessing. I love my teammates. I try to work every day and do the best and just...(show) support for them, and they likewise do the same for me," Sutherland said. "So just obviously hearing that, and it's just a great honor, just to be looked up to like that by my teammates."
While Sutherland will be in No. 0 for the foreseeable future, when his playing career ends, he will be part of the selection committee that chooses to whom he hands off the number.
"This is going to be something in which whenever someone wears No. 0, when they graduate, they're actually going to be handing it down to the next player in the program that has earned the right to wear that," Franklin said. "We think that will be very meaningful and significant as well that the person who has earned the right is going to work with the coaching staff and choose the next person."