La Costa Canyon High School began playing varsity football in 1996. In the first 28 years of the program’s existence, no player wore No. 0.
Then last spring, running back Coby Herman asked head coach Sean Sovacool if he could wear it.
“It’s a cool number,” said Herman. “You look super tough.”
Sovacool made a deal with Herman. If he missed zero offseason morning workouts, zero spring practices and zero summer workouts, the coach would grant Herman his wish.
Herman not only didn’t miss a single one of those 62 workouts, he showed up early almost every day.
The sixth-ranked Mavericks are off to a 4-0 start and number zero, and Herman is a big reason why. He leads LCC in rushing (320 yards), all-purpose yards (695) and touchdowns (nine).
Sovacool’s nickname for Herman: Agent Zero
“It’s unprecedented,” Sovacool said of Herman wearing the number at LCC. “But you know what else is unprecedented? Coby Herman. He is a special man. The film speaks for itself.”
The number zero is showing up on more and more jerseys in the San Diego Section. According to MaxPreps.com, 31 schools out of the 100 that play 11- or 8-man varsity football have issued the number.
Zero’s popularity may stem from the NFL allowing players to wear the number for the first time last season.
The most well-known NFL players to wear No. 0: Eagles running back D’Andre Swift, Jaguars wide receiver Calvin Ridley and Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith.
Zeroes are heroes in the NBA, with the likes of Boston’s Jason Tatum, Milwaukee’s Damian Lillard and Denver’s Russell Westbrook repping the number.
Zero and baseball don’t mix as well.
Oscar Gamble wore the number but was better known for his flowing Afro. The Pirates’ Al Oliver wore zero well, smacking 2,743 career hits.
When it comes to the San Diego Section, the best-known No. 0 is Granite Hills quarterback Zac Benitez. As a freshman last season, Benitez led the Eagles to the CIF San Diego Section Open Division title, passing for 2,281 yards and 23 touchdowns against just four interceptions.
The third-ranked Eagles are 3-1 this season, with Benitez throwing for 677 yards and eight touchdowns.
Benitez wore No. 17 throughout his youth football days. His reasoning for switching to zero?
“I just like the way the number looks on me,” he said. “No other quarterback I know wears number zero. I kind of want to be the outcast, be the talk of (the number).”
Granite Hills coach Kellen Cobbs had no problem handing the football to a freshman, so the fact Benitez requested zero barely fazed Cobbs.
“I thought it was cool. Something different,” said Cobbs, who played quarterback at Granite Hills and believes Benitez is the first player in the program’s 65-year history to wear the number. “A lot of people want to wear No. 1. Fifteen is popular (with quarterbacks) because of (Patrick) Mahomes. Nobody (among quarterbacks) wears zero. He wanted to make it his own deal, which I think is cool.”
Another player wearing zero is Patrick Henry High School running back Cody Cappelletti. Only it wasn’t Cappelletti’s idea to wear the number. The brainstorm came from Henry head coach Colby Davies.
The Patriots bought new uniforms this season, and No. 0 came with the unis.
“The No. 0, I wanted that to represent a guy that does everything the right way, that the rest of the guys look up to,” said Davies. “A guy that performs on the practice field and on game day, a guy everyone can rally around, a leader.”
Cappelletti’s arm didn’t have to be twisted to switch from 13 to 0.
“I thought it was a cool number,” he said. “I knew I was going to have a big year, and I kind of wanted to show it off.”
A big year? Cappelletti has rushed for 621 yards, averaging 10.5 yards per carry, caught 12 passes and scored 12 touchdowns.
Said Davies: “He’s playing amazing.”
Sean Doyle is in his 28th season as the head coach at Cathedral Catholic High School (and before it, USDHS). No one has ever worn the number during his tenure. Doyle said he would allow someone to wear zero … if they could bench press 400 pounds.
Seeing as how the number is usually worn by running backs and wide receivers, who are smaller and not as strong as linemen, it’s highly unlikely a Don will wear zero.
Asked why he makes it so difficult for someone to wear zero, Doyle said: “I’m old-school.”
But in the next sentence he added, “In the next year or two, I’ll probably change my mind because times are changing.”
The image of a football player wearing No. 0 is someone who’s sleek and fast. Mahki Gray wore zero at Lincoln last year and he flashed his speed, averaging 24.6 yards per catch. This year, Isaiah Grant proudly wears zero.
“I’m keeping the tradition for all those short, fast-twitch guys, the ones with speed,” said Grant, who flashed his wheels returning a punt for a touchdown earlier this season.
There are those who wear the number because they think it’s cool and those who think their play will make the number cool. Then there’s Canyon Hills freshman running back Ma-Kahi Fields-Cook, who has rushed for 538 yards in four games.
Fields-Cook’s reason for flashing zero are more esoteric.
“I wanted the number because it’s a loop and never stops,” said Fields-Cook. “Other numbers have an end. Zero doesn’t stop. And that’s what I believe in, never stopping.”
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