James Franklin outlines Penn State football's plan for Jonathan Sutherland this spring
Jonathan Sutherland is now officially listed as a linebacker on Penn State football’s roster page.
Entering his sixth and final season with the Nittany Lions, Sutherland will make the move from safety to serve as a Sam linebacker for Penn State in 2022.
“At the end of the day that’s where he’s starting, at that field backer position,” head coach James Franklin said Monday.
It’s a move that Franklin said allows Penn State to get its best 11 players on the field, and also align the Nittany Lion defense with the realities of college football in 2022.
At that position, Franklin said the Nittany Lions would prefer to play with a defensive back with linebacker traits most of the time, rather than a linebacker with defensive back traits.
Sutherland is up nine pounds from Penn State’s Outback Bowl contest against Arkansas, now listed at 210 pounds.
“When we kind of looked at Sutherland and kind of looked at his career, he has played his best football when he’s been closest to the ball,” Franklin said. “…A lot of times when he was playing safety, we were dropping him down into the box, very similar to what we did with Marcus Allen.”
Sutherland gave Penn State a nice rotation option at safety for several years, but could never quite break through and become a full-time starter.
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He played 314 snaps on defense for the Nittany Lions last season, the most of his career.
Sutherland’s strength has always been his tackling ability. In 2020, he registered an outstanding 87.2 tackling grade on Pro Football Focus, going the whole season without missing a tackle.
The move closer to the line of scrimmage should accentuate that strength.
It also gives the Nittany Lions another veteran presence in an area where they lack experience.
The only returning starter for Penn State at linebacker is Curtis Jacobs. Brandon Smith and Ellis Brooks are both off to try their hands in the NFL.
Sutherland’s presence gives Franklin and new defensive coordinator Manny Diaz the flexibility to move Jacobs over to the Will linebacker position.
It’s a path the Nittany Lions often follow with their young linebackers. Most recently, Jacobs and Smith began at the Sam spot when they first cracked the starting lineup, before transitioning to Will the following season.
“[It] allows us to bump Curtis over, very similar to how we’ve done it here for eight years,” Franklin said. “A lot of the young guys have come in, gained their experience at that field backer position, which both mentally and physically is a little bit less on your plate. As you gain that experience, then you move over to the boundary backer, so similar to what we’re doing with Sutherland and Jacobs.”
