'He touched a lot of lives': Phoenix remember Sutton and retire his jersey

OBERLIN — Even as they mourned Jeremiah Sutton's death, those who knew him best couldn't help but smile. "That's just the kind of guy he was," Phoenix head football coach Mike Akers said. "Everybody just liked him. He was the nicest kid we had." Sutton, who took his own life over the weekend, was remembered as Oberlin High School's toughest player, a solid young man who kept his grades up, was a natural leader and had plans to join the Navy. Teammates came together Tuesday outside the school to sign No. 73's jersey, which will be retired. Other friends showed up, too, talking with counselors about the loss of a beloved Class of 2020 graduate. Football coach Tom Hicks called the offensive guard and defensive tackle a "gentle giant." Head coach Mike Akers remembered how Sutton got the nickname "Bullfrog" — his name was Jeremiah, after all. "Since he was a pudgy little guy, we called him tadpole," Akers said. "That was when he was a 15-year-old sophomore, baby-faced." As Sutton shed fat and replaced it with muscle, his role on the team also grew. Soon, he was squatting more than 400 pounds and deadlifting more than 450, and took a turn as team captain. And when it came time to raise funds for the team, Sutton was the man — he could outsell any other player, Akers said. Hand him a stack of coupon cards to sell, and Bullfrog would return a couple of days later with $400 in hand. "He never had a bad word to say about anyone. Always a smile on his face," Akers said. "Phenomenal young man," said business teacher Denita Tolbert-Brown, choking back tears and composing herself. She developed a relationship with Sutton in his freshman year. When he went to the Lorain County JVS to study maintenance services, Sutton would ride the bus back to the high school and every day made a point of checking on Tolbert-Brown. "He just wanted to make sure I was OK, that I had a good day," she said. She was concerned, though, that Sutton had never shown any warning signs of being in trouble. Tolbert-Brown said he would have been the last person she suspected of needing help because he was "just so bright, joyful, lovable. Anything I could possibly say would not be enough to tell you what a wonderful young man he was. He touched a lot of lives." If the high school needed to set up chairs for an event, Sutton was the first to volunteer and the last to leave, said Principal Chris Frank. "If I had a word — generous," he said, describing Sutton. "He was generous with his time, generous with his effort. He was always the first to want to help." Football teammate Sam Thompson launched a GoFundMe drive online to raise money for Sutton's family. As of Tuesday afternoon, it had reached $12,500 in pledges. "I just saw a family in need and figured if anyone was going to step in, it should be me," he said. The two boys had known each other since seventh grade. Thompson remembered helping him find his way on the Phoenix squad, and the trouble Sutton had in his early days. "He took his licks like anyone else, and he never quit. That's why I gained so much respect for him," he said. Contact Jason Hawk at (440) 329-7122 or news@lcnewspapers.com.