Zembiec fine with new role as student coach
The guy wearing the red cap, the distinctive mustache and the gold chains on the Penn State sideline once had dreams of starting at quarterback for the Nittany Lions and playing in the NFL.
Jake Zembiec was a fourstar recruit from Rochester, N.Y., who led his high school team, Aquinas Institute, to two state championships, but whose right shoulder throbbed with pain for three years in high school and at Penn State.
He put off surgery until he could no longer bear the sleepless nights and the nausea stemming from his eroded shoulder.
“It was from overuse and over time it got worse,” Zembiec recalled. “Eventually it wore me out.”
He finally relented and elected to undergo surgery in October 2017. He went through rehabilitation and even threw a touchdown pass in the 2018 Blue-White Game. But the pain lingered, so in August of last year he quietly decided to give up football.
“It still didn’t feel right,” Zembiec said. “I was still in pain, so I ultimately decided that if I’m not going to be able to compete at 100 percent and get a fair chance to start, then I’m not going to push myself through this pain.”
A year later, he has no regrets. He’s still a part of the Penn State football program as a student assistant coach, attending every practice and every game. He’s one of the guys on the sideline who signals in plays to the offense and the one who stands out the most.
Zembiec has become a folk hero with his dark, 1970s-style mustache, his ornate jewelry and his head bopping to the music. People from 5 to 50 have paid him the ultimate compliment by dressing like him for Halloween or for games.
Many Penn State fans who didn’t know him before this season are learning who he is.
“It’s really taken off,” Zembiec said. “It’s been a lot of fun. Coach (James) Franklin loves it. All the players love it. All the coaches love it. I got everyone on board before I started acting like a fool.”
The mustache came before the chains. Continuing a tradition allegedly started by Christian Hackenberg, Penn State quarterbacks grow, or try to grow, mustaches during preseason camp. Former Penn State quarterbacks Trace McSorley and Billy Fessler urged Zembiec to keep the mustache this year, even though he wasn’t an active player.
“Before I came back to camp, I dyed it black, so it really stood out,” he said. “I dye it every week, so it’s primed for games.”
Zembiec began wearing the chains last season when one of his teammates forgot to leave his jewelry in the locker room and asked him to hold it. Instead of putting it in his pocket, he wore it around his neck. Because so many liked the look, a tradition was begun.
“I didn’t wear as many last year,” he said. “It’s caught on more this year. Everyone started giving me their chains instead of forgetting them by accident. I didn’t realize how many guys had chains.
“Everybody loved it just to see me acting like a complete goofball on the sidelines.”
Zembiec finally decided to buy a chain for himself, ordering a rather large, custom-made Nittany Lion one to wear for the White Out Game against Michigan last month. It’s the heaviest one he’s worn.
“I don’t know how much it weighs, but it’s pretty heavy,” he said. “All of them together are pretty heavy. It’s irritating to have that much stuff around my neck, but it’s worth the pain for the hype.”
He now has his own sign at Beaver Stadium hanging in front of the student section in the south end zone, which he says has been his favorite part of the season so far. Many people have posted photos of themselves or their children wearing Jake Zembiec costumes on social media. The winner of a Halloween contest last week at Champs in State College dressed like him.
“It’s so cool,” he said. “Seeing yourself as a Halloween costume, it’s like, ‘What did I get myself into?’ It’s amazing. I wish I could meet all those people who have dressed like me to take a big group picture. It’s hilarious.”
Zembiec, though, is very serious about working with Penn State’s younger quarterbacks during practice and helping to relay the play calls from offensive coordinator Ricky Rahne, who sits in the press box on game days.
“Jake has a unique role on the team,” Rahne said. “He’s still very much involved with the team. The guys hang out with him. He’s able to share his story of how he got to where he is and show guys that there’s more than one way to contribute on the team.”
Zembiec enrolled at Penn State in January 2016 and competed with Sean Clifford to be the No. 3 quarterback behind McSorley and Tommy Stevens. He says he harbors no jealousy towards Clifford, who’s emerging as a star just a few yards in front of him on Saturdays.
Zembiec says he doesn’t miss playing the game that once consumed him.
“When I got hurt, my passion for playing left me,” he said. “Playing with that injury took it out of me. Leading up to my decision to stop playing, I really had no love for the game itself anymore.
“It doesn’t bother me at all. It’s weird. I’m just having so much fun this year watching our guys, my best friends, play really well. Just knowing that I have somewhat of a role during the game is fulfilling enough for me at this point.”
Zembiec has no plans to become a coach. He carries a 3.8 grade-point average in kinesiology, expects to graduate in May, plans to attend graduate school and hopes to become a physical therapist.
His parents, Maureen and Thomas, were unhappy when their son decided to retire from football.
“Eventually they got over it,” Zembiec said. “They know I’m truly happier where I am now. I didn’t consult anybody before deciding to stop playing. I wanted it to be 100 percent my decision because only I knew what I had been dealing with for three years.”
Now he’s having the time of his life, staying close to his teammates and friends and becoming a celebrity.
“Even during preseason camp, I had a different mindset,” Zembiec said. “I was already so happy and told myself I was going to soak in every moment. For all this stuff to happen, it’s made it that much more amazing to go out this way in my last year.”