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Instant Reaction: Penn State lands 4-star safety Jonathan Sutherland

Penn State lands 4-star safety Jonathan Sutherland (2017)

Penn State landed the verbal commitment of Jonathan Sutherland, one of it's top targets earlier today in the 2017 class. Sutherland, a 6'0", 190 pound , safety out of Episcopal High School Virginia, picked Penn State over the likes of Michigan, Syracuse, Boston College and Wisconsin. All of those schools made his top five along with Penn State.. Sutherland talked about his decision with Rivals Mid-Atlantic Recruiting Analyst Adam Friedman.

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Sutherland attended Penn State's Lasch Bash last weekend and had great things to say about the two-day visit when he spoke with Adam Friedman last week.

“I was at Penn State for two days,” Sutherland said. “I was at the Lasch Bash BBQ on Saturday. I spent a lot of time with the coaches and the players. On Sunday I watched the camp and saw how the defensive backs coach worked and coached his guys. I really enjoyed myself.

“I’m close with coach Pry, coach Banks, and coach Franklin,” he said. “I got to spend some good time with them and watch film. I spent a lot of time with coach Banks and talked a lot about where I would fit in their secondary. He wants me to play strong safety.”

Sutherland is Penn State's tenth commit for the 2017 class and their second in the last five days.

SCOUTING REPORT

There's plenty to like about Penn State's newest commit, Jonathan Sutherland. Sutherland is one of the most physical safeties in the 2017 class that I've watched on tape. Sutherland's physicality shows up in both the passing game and the run game. Sutherland has great range and covers a lot of ground in the passing game. Defensive backs like to say they have a "no-fly zone", but Sutherland is one of the few that actually enforces it. Sutherland's highlights show that he is a very intimidating figure in the secondary and that even if a receiver does happen to catch the football, Sutherland will be there to make sure he pays the price.

Sutherland is a great open-field tackler and he his hard-hitting ability makes him very effective against the run. Once he diagnoses that it's a run play, Sutherland seems like he's shot out of a cannon as he closes in on ball-carriers.

Overall, Sutherland is a great fit for Penn State and the style of play in the Big Ten. Sutherland is a player who can cover both wide receivers and tight ends one-on-one, but he can also come up and be another player you can put in the box to stop the run game.

Check out his 2015 season highlights below.

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