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Penn State jerseys to once again be nameless

Penn State announced Thursday that names will be removed from the back of the football team's jerseys.

    by Erin McCarthy
    Published 

In 2012, then-head coach Bill O'Brien made a change to a 125-year Penn State tradition by putting names on the back of players' jerseys, honoring those who stayed with the program during the Jerry Sandusky scandal and harsh NCAA sanctions. Next season, the Nittany Lions will remove those names.

"We are a strong family, playing for one goal, one university and there is only one name that truly matters, Penn State," coach James Franklin said Thursday in a statement.

The 2015 season will also bring back the slogan "Black Shoes. Basic Blues. No Names. All Game," the same mantra which was on the Penn State football yearbook in 2008, when the team won the Big Ten championship.

Franklin informed the team of the jersey decision Thursday morning in a meeting with former lettermen, as well as longtime equipment manager Brad "Spider" Caldwell, who recently retired after 31 years at the university, according to a photo Franklin tweeted Thursday afternoon.

After the meeting, center Angelo Mangiro released a statement that couldn't fit into Twitter's 140-character limit, so he included a link in a tweet.

"I am truly honored to play for Penn State and wear the Blue and White. In 2011, my first season in Happy Valley, it was a season the nation will never forget," Mangiro said. "The players and staff on that team could have easily been crushed by the immense pressure surrounding the program; however, we didn't because of the logo on the front of the jersey. We played for that logo, each other, and the former players."

"When Coach O'Brien came and put names on the uniforms to honor the players that stayed, I was extremely moved. I understood the history that surrounded our program and the basic whites and blues," he continued. "I was thankful for Coach O'Brien to make that tough decision, and I felt that it was very appropriate at that time. But, that was then and this is now."

Six 2011 players remain on the team - LB Ben Kline, TE Kyle Carter, WR Matt Zanellato, DE Carl Nassib, DT Anthony Zettel, and Mangiro. Mangiro said those six felt they had been honored enough.

"Only six players have had the unique experience of starting their PSU careers without names on their jerseys, wearing those jerseys for three years, and will now be able to finish the same way that we started," Zanellato said in his own statement attached to a tweet.

"I felt the name on the back of my jersey was to honor the players and for my mother in the stands but, I have always played for the logo on the front," Mangiro said. "My mother doesn't need to see a name to pick me out on the field. She could spot me out of a crowd of a 107,000 easily."
Other players took to Twitter, expressing excitement about the decision.
Franklin said the commitment of the 2012 team will not be forgotten going forward.
"Names adorned the back of the jersey to forever identify the men who stayed loyal, sacrificed & chose to play for this institution during the most difficult of times," Franklin said. "The 2012 team, permanently recognized in Beaver Stadium, will hold an enduring place in our program's history."
The plain uniforms and black shoes were once considered staples of the program under late coach Joe Paterno. 

"Its the name on the front of the jersey that matters most, not the one on the back," Paterno once said.

"We are honored and humbled with the opportunity to honor Joe Paterno and the decades of lettermen that have played before us," Zanellato said.

On Thursday, Penn State also revealed new posters that include the simple jerseys.

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    Erin McCarthy
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