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Thu r sd a y, Nove mbe r 10, 2011 Vol. 112 No. 88 30 cents off campus
It was always going to end. That was certain. But foryears, even decades, no one could pinpoint just whenand how Joe Paterno would end his tenure as the headcoach of the Penn State football team.
Some thought it would happen in the 1980s, when histeam was on top. He was in his 60s and would have a lifeafter football. But he kept coaching, and his teams keptwinning.
During the next decade, his teams kept winning. Andalthough Paterno coached against men a generation
younger, he kept going.
Not even the Dark Years, when his teams struggled toearn victories, could make Paterno consider calling itquits. He knew his teams were close to returning toprominence.
And the Lions did. But a touch of bad luck that causedpoor health made many believe Paterno couldnt roam
the sidelines much longer. But he didnt let thosesetbacks stop him from coming to work.
It appeared no imaginable circumstance could causePaterno to stop coaching his players about not only howto play football, but how to live their lives.
And then the unimaginable happened.
More than half a century of teaching young people howto act with character and poise ended amidst allegationsof men failing to act responsibly to maintain the well
being of children and adolescents.So, on November 9, 2011 like he had for more than 60years Paterno decided to do what he believed was bestfor Penn State and announced he would retire at the endof the season. However, he wouldnt get the chance.
The situation surrounding the school left the man whodevoted many of his years doing so much for otherssaying he wished he had done more.
SPECIAL COMMEMORATIVE EDITION Published independently by students at Penn State
1966 2011
MarissaKutoloski/Collegian
Collegian
TheDaily
Penn State Head Coach
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Courtesy of Penn State archivesPenn State Assistant Coach Joe Paterno instucts players during a coaches clinic in 1952. Penn State coach Rip Engle is watching him.
By Art Benning
COLLEGIAN STAFF MEMBER, 1951
In 1950, I was the AssistantSports Editor and was given what
would turn out to be a gem of anassignment.
I was the first media person tointerview Paterno when he cameon campus, a tribute to an astuteassignment editor, or quite likely,Ray Koehler, who was SportsEditor. Football and boxing weremy regular beats, along with a col-
umn called Off the Cuff. Theresulting story made the front page,and, I believe, was passed on to TheCentre Daily Times, as we often did
with major stories.A few years later I had the oppor-
tunity to chat with Coach at a PennState Rally in New York, on a Fridaynight before a Saturday game with
Army at West Point.I asked him if he remembered
being interviewed, and he was kindenough to say he did. We talkedabout the team, and he made a
point of thanking The Collegian forhelping to keep student fans enthu-siastic about the football program.
As the quarterbacks coach (hav-ing been a star quarterback for RipEngel at Brown), he was flyingunder our radar for the next year ortwo. Little did any of us then realize
what an amazing career he wouldcarve out for himself, his college,his fans, and college football.Whatta guy!
Benning is a retired copy editorand author.
1950s
1950:Joe Paterno joined his
college coach at BrownRip Engle as an assis-
tant coach at PennState.
1956:Penn State offensive
lineman Sam Valentineearns All-American
honors.
Dec. 19, 1959:Penn State defeats
Alabama in LibertyBowl on a fake fieldgoal touchdown passthrown by sophomore
Galen Hall.
1959:Penn State QB Richie
Lucas wins 1959Maxwell Award and
finishes 2nd inHeisman voting.
1949:Joe Paterno graduates
from Brown with adegree in English
literature.
1955:Paterno missed the firstgame of his coachingcareer against Army
following the death ofhis father, Angelo.
1958:Joe Paterno and SuePohland meet at thelibrary during Sues
freshman year
1950s:Penn State football
posts a 62-28-4 record.
NON-FOOTBALL NEWS
1950- Korean War breaks out- North
Korean forces invade South Korea;
South Korea is aided by the UN, led
by Gen. Douglas MacArthur
1950- First color television broadcast,
done by CBS
1951- Julius and Ethel Rosenburg
convicted of espionage
1951- First commercial computer is
introduced by Remington Rand, called
UNIVAC.
1952-Rock and Roll is coined
1953-Elizabeth II is crowned.
1953- Korean War ends
1953- Khrushchev appointed to leadthe Soviet Union; detonates first
hydrogen bomb
1953- Sir Edmund Hillary and
Tenzing Norgay are the first people to
climb Mt. Everest
1954- Supreme Court Decision-
Brown v. Board of Education- outlaws
segregation in public schools.
ALL AMERICAN
Sam Valentine - Guard
Rich Lucas - QB
REGULAR SEASON
RECORD: 62-28-4
BOWL GAMES : 1-0
Joe Paterno is one
of the good things
about football. Joe
Paterno is one of
the good things
about Penn State
and about college
football in general.
Dave Robinson, Defensive End1959-62
After coaching Brown from 1944-
1949, Rip Engle became the head
coach at Penn State in 1950 and
brought his former quarterback
and cornerback with him. Paterno
holds a share of Brown's career
interception record at 14 and also
played basketball for a year. Upon
graduation, against his parents
wishes, he passed up law school to
join Engle's staff at Penn State.
BEFORE THE 50S:
JOE P AT ER N O2 | THURSDAY, NOV. 10, 2011 THE DAILYCOLLEGIAN
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JOE P AT ER N O THURSDAY, NOV. 10, 2011 | 3THE DAILYCOLLEGIAN
Courtesy of Penn State archivesFront from left to right: George; Welsh; Jim O'Hora; Joe Paterno; Earl Bruce. Back from left to right: Frank Patrick; Phillips; J.T. White; Dan Radakovich; Joe McMullen
By Ira MillerCOLLEGIAN STAFF MEMBER
When Joe Paterno took over asPenn States football coach in1966, the program was nothinglike it is today. Of course, this wasa different era:
No ESPN, no internet, no lightsin Beaver Stadium, which was lessthan halfthe size it is today.
Everything was low key.Students were admitted to gamesfor free. No more than two gamesa year were televised. All thegames began at 1:00 or1:30 on
Saturday. Once a year, about 5,000seats were given to high school-band members aroundPennsylvania, who performed athalftime.
Practices were open to themedia. I remember eating bagelsanddrinking coffee in the lockerroom with coaches and players onSundaymornings after games.Now, reporters never get into thelocker room, ever.
Paterno was a different kind ofcoach. He was open, and he wasbold.
He spent Friday nights before
games in bull sessions with thewriters, as much as telling them what he was going to do onSaturday. Again, this wasa differ-ent era, but there was a trust builtup.
He had a vision. He called it theGrand Experiment, producingbig-time college football with realstudents. Three of his first eightteams were undefeated and theyproduced, among others, aGrammy-winning composer(Mike Reid), an orthopedic sur-geon (Dave Joyner), a big-timereal estate developer (Don Abbey)
and a major player in newspaperpublishing (Charlie Pittman).
He coached aggressively, hetold his players not to be afraid tolose, and he backed it up. Longbefore overtime came to collegefootball, Paternonever played for atie.
Twice during the undefeatedstreak, his team won games 15-14by going for a two-point conver-sion at the end. Another time, it
wound up in a tie game after fail-ing on a 4th-and-1 play from itsown 15-yard line.
That was in a Gator Bowl
against Florida State. But Joecould laughat himself. The verynext fall, in the season opener, hecalled a fourth downplay againdeep in his own territory and lateracknowledged it was spurred bythat earlier failure. If only wecould be laughing at that kind offailurenow.
Because for sure, we have fail-ure.
But we dont have laughter. Miller retired NFL writer for
the San Francisco Chronicle and past president Pro Football Hallof Fame selection committee.
1960s
1960:On December 20 No.16 Lions win Liberty
Bowl v.unrankedOregon, 41-12. They
finish their season witha record of 7-3.
1961:
On December 31 No.17 Lions win Gator
Bowl v. No. 13Georgia Tech, 30-15. 1962:
Joe and Sue get married
1966:
Joe becomes headcoach
1967:
On December 30 No. 10Lions tie for Gator Bowl
v. unranked FloridaState, 17-17. They finish
their season with arecord of 8-2.
1968:
No. 3 Lions winOrange Bowl against
No. 6 Kansas, 15-14.They have an undefeat-ed, untied, perfect sea-
son.
1969:
On January 1, 1970,Lions win Orange
Bowl v. Kansas, 15-14.This resulted in a sec-ond consecutive unde-
feated season and afinal No. 2 ranking inthe grand final poll for
the Lions.
1969:
Mike Reid (Lineman)wins the OutlandTrophy and theMaxwell Award
OVERALL REGULAR
RECORD: 35-7-1
NON-FOOTBALL NEWS
1960- First televised Presidential
debate; JFK elected and is the youngest
person ever elected President
1961- Construction of Berlin Wall
begins
1961- Bay of Pigs invasion
1962- Cuban Missile Crisis
1963- JFK assassinated
1963- Beatles release first full
album, Please Please Me
1963- MLK Jr.s I Have A Dream
speech in Washington, D.C.
1964- The U.S. Civil Rights Act is
passed
1965-Alexei Leonov is first towalk in space
1966- Miranda Rights written
1967- First Super Bowl
1968- Martin Luther King Jr. and
Robert Francis Kennedy both assassi-
nated
1969- Woodstock
1969- Apollo 11 lands on the moon
Bob Mitinger - Defensive End
Dave Robinson Defensive End
Roger Kochman - Halfback
Glenn Ressler - Center/Guard -
Ted Kwalick - Tight End
Dennis Onkotz - Linebacker
Mike Reid - Defensive Tackle
Charlie Pittman - Halfback
Neal Smith - Safety
SECOND TEAM
Chuck Sieminski - Offensive
Tackle
Rich Buzin - Offensive Tackle
Tim Montgomery - Safety
Dennis Onkotz - Linebacker
Mike Reid - Defensive Tackle
Steve Smear - Defensive Tackle
ALL-AMERICAN
He made you
understand, when
you're an 18,19
year old, just
because you're a
football player,
doesn't make you
any better or any
worse. Football is
not the most
important thing inyour life. I always
carry that with me
in my life after
Penn State.
Jack Ham, Linebacker.1968-1970
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JOE P AT ER N O THURSDAY, NOV. 10, 2011 | 4THE DAILYCOLLEGIAN
Courtesy of Penn State archivesCoach Joe Paterno speaks to his team after is Cotton Bowl Victory over Texas. Penn State won the game, 30-6.
By Jerry MiccoCOLLEGIAN STAFF MEMBER, 1977-1979
Covering the Penn State footballprogram was different in the late70s than it was the past 10-15 years.It was a different time and a differ-ent group of people that were run-ning things at the football offices inRec Hall.
Paterno was different, of course.Much younger, more involved inevery aspect of his team and it justseemed more casual and less cor-
porate.Penn State was a national power-
house. The first game I covered with the 1979 Sugar Bowl, a 14-7PSU loss to Alabama. I covered theTide for the paper as I was going tobe the incoming sports editor. But Ican remember Paterno being muchmore media friendly and jocular.
Again, it was a looser and morerelaxed time.
I'd only been to his office twice.And I will never forget seeing JohnCapaletti's Heisman Trophy in
there. It is still the only one on thePSU campus. Paterno always wasgood with the Collegian. Gave us histime and some insights.
Paterno's legacy will forever betarnished by the scandal that hasnow crushed the entire university.When you think back to the era
when I knew Paterno, it seems likea very distant speck in the rear viewmirror.
Micco is currently the assistantmanaging editor at the Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette
1970s
Jan 1, 1974:Paterno caps his third
undefeated season withan Orange Bowl win
against LSU.
Nov. 5, 1976:
Paterno said aninspired Penn State
squad played its bestoffensive game in a41-20 win over N.C.
State to give the coachhis 100th win.
Jan. 1, 1979:A 14-7 loss to No. 2
Alabama, coached byBear Bryant, in the
Sugar Bowl ruins theLions perfect season.
Jan. 1, 1970:A 10-3 win over No. 6Missouri in the OrangeBowl seals the Lions
second-straightundefeated season.
Jan 1, 1972:Penn State comes upwith a 30-6 win over
Texas in Cotton Bowl.
Jan. 1, 1975:41-20 win over Baylor
in Cotton Bowl.
Dec. 25, 1977:A 42-30 win over No.
15 Arizona State inFiesta Bowl helped
Penn State finish theyear at No. 5.
NON-FOOTBALL NEWS
REGULAR SEASON
RECORD: 96-22
BOWL RECORD: 6-41970- The Beatles break up
1971- The Pentagon Papers published
1972- Watergate Scandal begins
1972- U.S. bombs North Vietnam on
Christmas
1973- Roe v Wade legalizes abortion
1973- First mobile phone invented
1974- All the President's Men is pub-
lished
1975- Vietnam War ends
1975- Bill Gates and Paul Allen found
the Microsoft Corporation
1976- U.S. celebrates Bicentennial
1976- Viking 2 spacecraft lands on
Mars
1976- Steve Jobs and Stephen Wozniakfound Apple Computer
1977- Elvis Presley dies
1977- Star Wars Episode IV: A New
Hope is released
1978- Jim Jones' followers commit
mass suicide in Jonestown, Guyana
1979- Margaret Thatcher becomes the
first woman prime minister of Britain
ALL-AMERICANSJack Ham, LinebackerDave Joyner, LinebackerLydell Mitchell, HalfbackCharlie Zapiec, LinebackerBruce Bannon, Defensive EndJohn Hufnagel, QBJohn Skorupan, LinebackerJohn Cappelletti, HalfbackRandy Crowder, Defensive TackleEd O'Neil, LinebackerJohn Nessel, Offensive TackleMike Hartenstine, Defensive End
Chris Bahr, KickerGreg Buttle, LinebackerTom Rafferty, GuardKurt Allerman, LinebackerKeith Dorney, TackleRandy Sideler, GuardMatt Bahr, KickerBruce Clark, Defensive tackleChuck Fusina, QuarterbackPete Harris, SafetyMatt Millen, Defensive Tackle
Sept. 26, 1970:A 41-13 loss to No. 18
Colorado ends Penn
States 23-game win-ning streak.You hope days likethis aren't going to
happen, but sometimesthey just do, Paterno
said.
I think hes done an outstanding job of cre-
ating an identity for an entire university the
way the ran the football program. I'm proud
to have been associated with him and the
things that have happened at Penn State.
Mickey Shuler, Tight end1975-1977
Collegian
File
Photo
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Having played for him for four
years, he was instrumental in my
life. It's a sad day in our household.
JOE P AT ER N O THURSDAY, NOV. 10, 2011 | 5THE DAILYCOLLEGIAN
Kim Grewell/Collegian file photoJoe Paterno, surrounded by players, addresses the crowd after the 1986 National Championship parade in State College.
By Dana ONeil
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER, 1986-1990
The phone in my SimmonsHall room rang at about 8:30 inthe morning.
Half asleep it was one of therare days that I didnt havean early morning class Igrumbled a hello intothe receiver (this was back
when phones were attached tocords).
Dana, this is Joe Paterno.Sounds like I woke you up. I
thought you students went toclass.
That was my first introduc-tion to a man that would, if notdefine my experience at PennState, certainly play a centralpart in it. Back when I receivedthat first call, I was freelancingfor a hometown newspaper,doing a story on quarterbackTom Bill.
A year later, my junior year,Id be one of the Daily Collegianfootball beat reporters and inmy senior year, Id also serve as
assistant football magazine edi-tor. Consequently I logged morethan a few of my collegiatehours listening to Paterno tellus that his team would give 110percent and that his opponentof the week was a good, solidfootball team even when it wasNo-Name DirectionalUniversity of the week.
In 1988, my junior year, PennState finished 5-6, the first los-ing season in Paternos career. Iremember being stunned wehad won a national title in my
freshman year so this losingthing was new to all of us but Icant say I remember Paternobeing especially testy or defen-sive.
Winning record or not, youalways had to be on your toes.Paterno wasnt afraid to toss a
verbal zinger in response to aquestion he deemed foolish nor
was he averse to turning yourquestion into a question back at
you.The trick, I learned, was to go
right back at him, even if the
butterfly army was swarming in your stomach.
If anything, though, JoePaterno inadvertently gave me
valuable lessons for my career.Covering Penn State football
was legit. It was a big-time pro-gram with a larger-than-lifecoach.
Now when the phone rings at 6 a.m. or midnight I alwayssound ready. Even if Im not.
ONeil now works for ESPN.com, covering nationalcollege basketball.
1980s
Oct. 31, 1981:Penn State lost 17-14to unranked Miami atthe Orange Bowl andlost its No.1 ranking.
Jan. 1, 1982:Penn State beats No. 8USC 26-10 in FiestaBowl. Curt Warner
won the OutstandingOffensive Player
Award.
1984:
For the first time in 14years and third time in
Paternos 19-yearcareer, Penn State had
a bowl-less season. TheLions season endedwith a 6-5 record.
1988:Penn State saw its first
losing season since1938 and Paternos
first losing season atPenn State.
Dec. 26, 1980:Penn State beat No. 11Ohio State 31-39 in theFiesta Bowl. The Lions
finished the seasonranked eighth in the
AP poll.
Nov. 28, 1981:Penn State beats No. 1Pittsburgh 48-14 and
ruined the rival'sundefeated season.Paterno earned his
150th win and the teamwon the Lambert-
Meadowlands trophy.
Jan. 1, 1983:Penn State beat No. 1Georgia 27-23 in theSugar Bowl, earning
the Lions firstconsensus national
championship.
Jan. 2, 1987:Penn State beat No. 1
Miami 14-10 in the FiestaBowl. The Lions wontheir second nationalchampionship in five
years.
1980- President Jimmy Carter boy-
cotts Moscow Olympics
1980- John Lennon assassinated
1981- First reported cases of AIDS
1981- MTV launches; Video Killed the
Radio Star by The Buggles is first
music video
1983- President Reagan announces his
plans for a missile defence plan
1984- Apple introduces the Macintosh
personal computer
1986- First Game Boy
1986- Reagan sends arms to Iran in
exchange for hostages
1987- Simpsons begins
1988- First computer virus reported
1989- East German government
allows East Berliners to cross into
West Berlin, dismantling the wall
begins shortly after
1989- Salvador Dali dies
1989- Globe Theatre built
Bill Dugan, Offensive tackle
Sean Farrell, Guard
Curt Warner, Tailback
Walker Lee Ashley, Defensive
End
Kenny Jackson, Receiver
Mark Robinson, Safety
Michael Zordich, Safety
Shane Conlan, OutsideLinebacker
Chris Conlin, Offensive tackle
D.J. Dozier, Halfback
Tim Johnson, Defensive Tackle
Steve Wisniewski, Guard
Andre Collins, Linebacker
Blair Thomas, Halfback
REGULAR SEASON
RECORD: 83-26-2
BOWL GAMES : 6-2
ALL-AMERICANS
NON-FOOTBALL NEWS:
James Coates, punt and kick returner1984-.1988
Collegian
file
photo
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Courtesy of Penn State archivesJoe Paterno announces that Penn State will join the Big Ten at a press conference.
By Brad YoungCOLLEGIAN STAFF MEMBER, 1994-1996
Please forgive the biased choiceof pronoun here. For me, PennState will always be we. I actual-ly struggled with that as theCollegian football beat writer forthe 1995 season.
We were coming off the unde-feated 1994 season (best Paternoteam ever), and I can still remem-ber Joe, tan and spry after a sum-mer on the Jersey shore, opening
his pre-season press conferenceby saying that the expectations
were the same as they always were for us: to contend for anational title. That all went away
with back-to-back losses toWisconsin and Ohio State early inthe conference season.
And so much has gone awaysince. On initial recall, it was anunremarkable season outside ofthe excellence of Bobby Engram(favorite Paterno player ever) andthe emergence of Curtis Enis (oh
how I long now for a free suit froman agent to be our biggest prob-lem). Those pre-season expecta-tions from Joe weren't met. New
Year's Day bowl. Yawn.But actually, the season stands
out. It is a line of demarcation.Look at what has happened sincethen. The program has neverregained the consistent domi-nance that it had from the late 60sto the early 90s. Were there signsthen that would stand as to why?Maybe a sense of complacency.
Maybe a lack of strategic innova-tion and top-to-bottom athleti-cism. Maybe a realization of howtough the Big Ten could be - on thefield and in the living room. Youcould see some of that, to be sure.
Of course, everybody knowsnow what else allegedly startedaround that same time. We willalways be we, but we will never bethe same as we were then.
Young is currently the associ-ate publisher of marketing at
Fortune.
1990s
Nov. 17,1990:Penn State beat No. 1Notre Dame 24-21.
Jan. 1, 1992Penn State beat No. 10Tennessee 42-17 in the
Fiesta Bowl.
Sept. 4, 1993:Penn State won its firstBig Ten game, 38-20against Minnesota.
Nov. 12, 1994:Penn State beat Illinois
35-31 in a 20-pointcomeback.
Jan. 2, 1995:Penn State beat No. 12Oregon 38-20, giving
Penn State its fifth unde-feated season and first
Big Ten Championship..
Nov. 8, 1997:Penn State suffered a
34-8 loss at No. 4Michigan, knocking
the team from its No.2 ranking.
Sept. 12, 1998:Joe Paterno earned his300th win, defeatingBowling Green 48-3.
Nov. 6, 1999:Penn State lost 24-23
to Minnesota,knocking the team
from its No. 2 ranking.
NON-FOOTBALL NEWS
OVERALL RECORD: 97-26
BOWL RECORD: 7-3
1990- Cold War ends; East and West
Germany reunite
1990- Nelson Mandela is freed
1991- Warsaw Pact dissolves; USSR
dissolves
1993- Nokia sends first text messages
1994- Football star O. J. Simpson is
arrested; later aquitted
1994- World Series is cancelled
1997- Princess Diana dies
1997- Scottish scientists clone a
sheep named Dolly
1997- J.K. Rowling publishes firstHarry Potter book
1998- Google launches search engine
1998- Viagra reaches markets
1999- Clinton is acquitted of
impeachment charges
1999- Columbine high school tragedy
1999- World population reaches 6 bil-
lion
Darren Perry, SafetyO.J. McDuffie, ReceiverLou Benfatti, Defensive TackleKyle Brady,Tight EndKi-Jana Carter, Running backKerry Collins, QuarterbackBobby Engram, receiver JeffHartings, Guard
Kim Herring, SafetyCurtis Enis, TailbackLaVar Arrington, LinebackerCourtney Brown, Defensive EndBrandon Shor, Linebacker
ALL-AMERICAN
He's put in a lot of years, he's helped a lot
of people, the community and Penn State.
He's helped so many kids over 46 years,
he was like a father figure.
Leonard Humphries, Defensive Back1989-1991
Collegian
Fie
Photo
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JOE P AT ER N O THURSDAY, NOV. 10, 2011 | 7THE DAILYCOLLEGIAN
Maxwell Kruger/CollegianJoe Paterno stands with his team as it waits to enter the stadium at the beginning of the football game in 2000.
By Chris Korman
COLLEGIAN STAFF MEMBER, 2000-2004
For students who arrived at PennState in August 2000, a 24-6 loss toToledo which, it turns out, has afootball team served as an intro-duction to Joe Paterno and theNittany Lions.
This tells you a lot about how therest of the decade went. Oh, there
were highlights. Larry Johnson ranfor more than 2000 yards and in 2002.Quarterback Michael Robinson flour-
ished as a senior and led his team toan 11-1 record capped by a stirringovertime win over Florida State inthe Orange Bowl.
And a Daryll Clark-led squad start-ed 2008 with nine wins and came
within 1 second of adding a 10th basically guaranteeing a national titleshot.
The magic was still there and, dueto a concerted marketing effort, fanfervor reached new levels.
But at other times, the programteetered. An ornery Paterno coddled
his stars in an attempt to shield themfrom an intense media environment,but wouldnt recruit with much fer-
vor.He was hesitant to make needed
changes on the coaching stuff.Instead of the dynamic force that hadbuilt a championship programand elevated the reputation ofa school, he appeared, too often,to be a grumpy caricature of himself.
Chris Korman is now the sportseditor at The Baltimore Sun.
2000s
Oct 8, 2005:With a big upset victory
over then No. 6 Ohio
State, PSU rises to No. 8in the AP Poll. I was
scared to death thewhole time, said
Paterno. You just hopeyour kids stay in goodposition and do it.
Jan. 3, 2006:Penn State finishes off the season11-1 and appears in its first ever
BCS Bowl game, the OrangeBowl, against Florida State. PennState narrowly edges out Florida
State, 26-23.
Sept. 20, 2008:After a big 45-3 vic-
tory over Temple,Paterno passes
Bobby Bowden asmajor college
footballs all timewinningest coach,
with 376 wins.
January 1, 2009:Penn State reaches
the Rose Bowl, butloses a tough contest
to USC, 38-24.
Oct. 7, 2001:After a 29-27 victoryover rival Ohio State,
Paterno becomes the win-ningest football coach in
NCAADivision I-Ahistory, passing Bear
Byrant on the all-time listwith 324 career victories.
Oct. 15, 2005:Just one week after pullingoff an upset victory overthe Buckeyes, the Lionsthemselves are upset by
Michigan, 27-25. The losswould be Penn State's only
one of the season.
Dec. 29, 2007:Penn State defeats Texas
A&M, 24-17, in theAlamo Bowl. The gamemarks Paternos 500th
contest as head coach atPenn State.
Nov. 8, 2008:Ranked No. 3, Penn State loses itsunbeaten record by falling on the
road, 24-23, to Iowa. Their balloonisnt busted, said Paterno. If we
win the next two, well have a chanceto go to a big bowl Well go home
and cry on Sunday, but Mondayweve got to come ready to work.
REGULAR SEASON
STANDINGS: 77-46
BOWL STANDINGS: 4-2
ALL-AMERICANS
NON-FOOTBALL NEWS:
2000- Y2K Scare dissolves,Internet stockDot ComBubble crashes2001- Terrorists attack WorldTrade Center; Bush declaresWar on Terror2001- Enron files bankruptcy2002-No Child Left Behind Actsigned, Ex-currencies of Euro-holding nations are no longerlegal tender2003- Saddam Hussein captured2004- Facebook launches2005- Hurricane Katrina
2006- Barry Bonds hits 715thhome run2006- Steve Irwin dies2007- Final Harry Potter novel2007- iPhone released2008- Barak Obama elected,Heath Ledger dies, Wall Streetcollapses:2009- Michael Jackson dies
It was a great honor andprivilege to play under him
because hes held in such
high regard.Gerald Cadogan, Offensive tackle2006-2008
Michael Haynes, Defensive
Lineman
Larry Johnson, Running Back
Jimmy Kennedy, Defensive
tackle
Tamba Hali, Linebacker
Paul Posluszny, Linebacker
Alan Zemaitis, CornerbackDan Connor, Linebacker,
Sean Lee, Linebacker
A.Q. Shipley, Center
Aaron Maybin, Linebacker
Jared Odrick, Defensive EndCollegian
Archive
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JOE P AT ER N O THURSDAY, NOV. 10, 2011 | 8THE DAILYCOLLEGIAN
Katie Silvis/CollegianJoe Paterno celebrates his 400th career win as Penn State's head football coach in 2010 after a Big Ten game against Northwestern.
By Brendan Monahan
COLLEGIAN STAFF MEMBER
Just a season ago, the NittanyLions hoisted Joe Paterno on theirshoulders after his 400th career win.
His eyes gleamed behind his signa-ture thick black glasses and a smilearose across his face. He lookedalmost uncomfortable in the limelightas he asked his players to put himdown.
The 35-21 comeback victoryagainst Northwestern highlightedthe 2010 season one that ended in
a mediocre finish.Thinking back on that 2010 game,
which signified Paternos legacy up tothat point, its stunning how differentthings can change in just one year.The man once idolized must nowanswer questions seemingly unfath-omable just a year ago.
The limelight has changed itsglare, now a blinding, threateninghue that wont go away until answersabound.
Mixed emotions swirl about thecurrent state of events, but in part,one universal feeling prevails that
of sadness, sadness over the eventsthat transpired and the impendingthreat of losing a reputation.
With the current state of things emotions and unanswered questionsswirling its hard to grasp the situ-ation, to come up with any plausibleconclusion until everything comes tolight.
Until that time, were forced to faceour emotions, to relive the memoriesin our own fashion and simply wait.
Monahan is currently an intakecoordinator/ project manager at
KTMC law firm.
2010
March 6:The Maxwell Football Club of
Philadelphia establishes theJoseph V. Paterno Award givento a college coach "to honor thespirit of Coach Paterno, whoselong-time success on the fieldhas been matched only by his
impact away from it".
June 12:Nebraskajoins the
Big 10Conference.
Nov. 6:Penn State defeats
Nowrthwestern, 35-21giving Paterno his400th career win.
Dec 16:The Big TenConference
establishes theStagg-Paterno
Championship Trophy.
Feb. 21:Two Penn State gradu-ates bid $9,000 for anautographed pair of
Paterno's glasses at theWPSU's Connoisseur's
Dinner and Auction.
April 30:All-American Jared
Odrick is drafted in thefirst round of the NFL
draft by the MiamiDolphins. Five otherformer Nittany Lions
are also drafted.
Sept. 1:Rob Bolden is named
starting quarterback. Heis the first true fresh-man Paterno has evernamed to this positionto begin the season.
Nov. 14:Offensive
lineman StefenWisniewskiis named anAll-American
REGULAR SEASON
RECORD: 7-6
ALL-AMERICANS
NON-FOOTBALL NEWSDeemed the International Year
of Youth by the United
Nations General Assembly
January- Burj Khalifa is built in
Dubai, tallest man-made structure to
date,Earthquake in Haiti kills
over 230,000 people
February- 2010 Winter Olympics
held in Vancouver
April- Volcanic ash in Iceland disrupts
airways, Deepwater Horizon oil spill
occurs in the Gulf of Mexico
July- Spain wins FIFA World Cup, held
in South Africa, Wikileaks launches
November- Harry Potter and the
Deathly Hallows Part 1 premieres
December- Dont Ask,
Dont Tell repealed
Stefen Wisniewski, Guard
At the end of the 2011
Outback Bowl, when Florida
had downed Penn State 37-
24, two coaches, one 46-
years-old and one 84-years-
old, met at midfield to shakehands honoring their mutual
respect. It would be the final
game for one. It was Urban
Meyer, the 46-year-old, tak-
ing the field for the last time
at the helm for the Gators.
Joe's been here for
a long time, he's
our head coach. To
have something
like this happen, it's
been really tough.
Drew Astorino, Safety2008-2011
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JOE P AT ER N O THURSDAY, NOV. 10, 2011 | 9THE DAILYCOLLEGIAN
Chloe Elmer/CollegianCornerback Chaz Powell (2) speaks with former head coach Joe Paterno during warm-ups on the field of Beaver Stadium before Penn State faced Eastern Michigan earlier this season.
By Ryan LoyCOLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
Entering the 2011 season, know-ing Joe Paterno was entering thefinal year of his contract, there wasone thought that always loomed inthe back of my mind.
How do you write about theretirement of Joe Paterno?
Like most our age who grew up inPennsylvania following Penn Statefor much of their life, I dont knowanything other than Penn Statefootball with that iconic figure walk-ing the sidelines.
I was sitting in the corner of thesouth end zone when Paterno ran
down those referees after an over-time loss to Iowa in 2002. It was thetypical fire from the Brooklyn, N.Y.native that generations of PennState fans saw well before I wasborn.
But that isnt the Paterno Ive hadthe opportunity to cover. The fire isstill there, but injuries and old age
wont allow the Penn State coachsflames to shine as bright as theyhad in the past. Still, this was aPaterno-coached team maybemore than any squad weve seen inthe past couple decades.
The Nittany Lions are winning with stout defense and an offensehighlighted by a workhorse tail-
back, compiling an 8-1 record withthree key games remaining.
When their backs have beenagainst the wall late in a game,the Lions have found a way to
win. With the shock of the recentevents and Paternos firing, itstime to see just how muchPaternos lessons can carry on withhis players.
The coachs players have beenknown to go on to do great thingsafter they left Paterno.
Now, its time to how they react when their coach is taken fromthem.
Loy is currently the DailyCollegians football editor.
2011
Aug. 7, 2011:
Paterno suffers rightshoulder and hipinjuries when wide
receiver Devon Smithincidentally crashes
into him duringpractice.
Sept.11, 2011:Penn State loses its
only game of the sea-son to Alabama 27-11.
Oct. 29, 2011:Paterno passes EddieRobinson for most
wins in FBS historywith a 10-7 comeback
win over Illinois.
Nov. 9, 2011:Paterno announces thathe'll retire at the end ofthe season, ending his46-year reign as Penn
State head coach.
Feb. 17, 2011:Paternos necktie fromhis 400th win was auc-tioned off for $10,200
at the 19th annualConnoisseur's dinner.
Sept.3, 2011:Paterno opens his 46thseason as Penn State
head coach with a 41-7victory over Indiana
State.
Oct. 22, 2011:Paterno ties EddieRobinson for most
wins in FBS historywith 408 after a 34-24
victory overNorthwestern.
Nov. 4, 2011:Former Penn State
defensive coordinatorJerry Sandusky is
indicted on 40 countsof sex crimes against
children.
NON-FOOTBALL NEWSREGULAR SEASON
RECORD: 8-1
January- Congressman Giffordsis shot in Arizona.January- Egyptian RevolutionbeginsMarch- 9.1 Earthquake andTsunami in JapanApril- The Royal Wedding ofPrince William and KateMiddletonMay- Osama bin Laden killed byNavy SEALSJuly- First successful artificialorgan transplantJuly-NASAs manned space shut-tle program concludes with thelanding of the Atlantis at theKennedy Space CenterOctober- Libyan Civil War endsOctober - President Obama recallsthe troops from IraqOctober- Steve Jobs dies ofpancreatic cancerNovember- Penn State Sanduskyscandal hits Penn State.
THE YEAR SO FAR
The year is not over yet. Thereare still three games to be playedand there is still a chance PennState can play in the first ever BigTen Championship.
But if that were to happen, the Nittany Lions will be withouttheir head coach, the man whohas led them to an 8-1 record.
Tom Bradley is taking over forPaterno and the former defensive
coordinator will have the toughtask of dealing with the Nebraska,Ohio State and Wisconsin.
If Bradley and his team can stayfocused on the task at hand, thisseason could still wind up being amagical one. Even if it isnt withthe man who got the Lions towhere they are right now.
I came here a boy and I left a man. And
thats all due to Joe Paterno.Chima Okoli, Offensive tackle2008-2011
TylerSizemore/Collegian
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By Mike StillCOLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
Its the end of an era.For the first time since 1966, Joe
Paterno is no longer head footballcoach at Penn State.
Amidst recent child sex-abuseallegations against former PennState assistant coach JerrySandusky which Paternos rolein has him under fire from alldirections the Penn StateBoard of Trustees announced
after meeting Wednesday nightthat Paterno is done as Penn Statehead football coach, effectiveimmediately.
These decisions were madeafter careful deliberations and inthe best interest of the universityas a whole, John Surma, VicePresident of the Board ofTrustees, said Wednesday night ata press conference. Penn Statehas always strived for honesty,integrity and the highest moralstandards in all of our activities.We promise you that we are com-mitted to restoring public trust toour university.
Penn State President GrahamSpanier was fired, as well.Defensive coordinator TomBradley has been announced asinterim head coach.
Paterno had announcedWednesday morning that he
would retire at the end of the sea-son.
I have come to work every dayfor the last 61 years with one cleargoal in mind: To serve the bestinterests of this university and the
young men who have beenentrusted to my care, Paternosaid in an official statement. Ihave the same goal today. Thats
why I have decided to announcemy retirement effective at the endof this season.
According to Grand Juryreports, Paterno had receivedknowledge of one sexual assaultcase involving Sandusky and a 10-
year old boy that occurred in theshowers of the Lasch Building in2002.
Mike McQueary, a graduateassistant at the time and current-ly the Nittany Lions recruiting
coordinator and receivers coach,reportedly witnessed Sandusky inthe shower with a boy.
McQueary reported the inci-dent to Paterno, who then passedon McQuearys eye witness testi-mony to then Director of AthleticsTim Curley and a vice president,Gary Schultz.
Both Curley and Schultz havebeen charged with perjury.
Paterno has not been accusedof any legal wrongdoing, but hehas been questioned whether hecould have done more to preventany of the 40 child sex-abuse
Sandusky has been charged with.The state police commissioner
called his lack of efforts a lapse ofmoral responsibility.
In his statement, Paternoexpressed his grief and his regretfor not taking more action.
I am absolutely devastated bythe developments in this case,Paterno said. I grieve for the chil-dren and their families, and I prayfor their comfort and relief. This isa tragedy. It is one of the great sor-
rows of my life. With the benefit ofhindsight, I wish I had donemore.
Despite questions surroundinghis involvement in the case andcharacter, there has been noshortage of support for Paterno.
On Tuesday night, hundreds ofstudents trekked to Paternoshome on McKee Street to offertheir support to Paterno.
Members of the crowd chantedPaternos name, told him theyloved him and scrambled at thechance to shake the hand of a liv-ing legend.
Its hard for me to tell you howmuch this means to me, he toldthe crowd. You guys live for thisplace. I live for people like youguys and girls. Im just so happy tosee that you feel so strongly aboutthis and your school.
Penn States current playershavent shied from backing theirnow former coach.
A squad meeting was calledWednesday morning at the Laschbuilding where Paterno told histeam this would be his last yearcoaching the Lions.
Players exited the building,some clearly upset by the expres-sions on their faces.
Its just such a tough thing tohappen, safety Drew Astorinosaid. Joes been here for a longtime, and hes our head coach, soits been really tough. It was tough
to hear.Hes an extremely selfless
man, running back Silas Reddsaid. His legacy that he createdhere is going to continue to livethrough us and all the future play-ers that will be here no matter
whos coaching. Its been anabsolute honor for me.
Linebacker Nate Stupar said hesaw Paterno cry for the first time,and offensive tackle Chima Okolisaid the team gave their coach a
standing ovation after he hadgiven his players the news.
The unwavering support fromplayers hasnt been limited to this
years team, either.Past players from all decades
during Paternos career haveoffered kind words about their for-mer coach.
Mickey Shuler Sr., an All-American tight end for Paterno inthe late 1970s, said hes proud tohave been associated withPaterno.
Joe taught you more than foot-ball. He taught you life, Shulersaid. Football is something youdid while you there, you did thebest you could but it did not com-pletely define you as an athletePenn State.
Walking around the Penn Statecampus, Paternos drive to better
the university and its students not just the football program isevidenced all over.
In 1998, Paterno and his wifeSue announced a contribution of$3.5 million to the University forfunding to construct the PennState All-Sports Museum and thePasquerilla Spiritual Center,bringing Paternos total donationsto the school up to $4 million.
We have met some wonderfulpeople here, weve known manystudents who have gone on tobecome outstanding leaders intheir professions and in society,
and all of our children havereceived a first-class educationhere, Paterno said in 1998. Ivenever felt better about Penn Stateand its future potential than I doright now. Sue and I want to do all
we can to help the Universityreach that potential.
In addition to contributing tocharitable events in the StateCollege community such as theSummer Olympics, Paterno hasdedicated himself to bettering the
education of each Penn State stu-dent.
After leading the Lions to anational title in 1983, Paterno chal-lenged the universitys Board ofTrustees to make Penn State No. 1in both athletics and academics.
He and his wife, Sue, led a cam-paign in 1993 that ultimatelyraised more than $13 million for anew library.
In April of 1997, the PaternoLibrary opened its doors to thestudent body.
I think hes done an outstand-ing job of creating an identity foran entire university with the wayhe ran the football program,Shuler said.
Paternos contributions to theschool can only be matched by thesuccess hes had on the gridiron.
Theres been more wins than
any other coach in FBS history 409. Theres been two nationalchampionships, 78-All Americansand five undefeated seasons sincePaterno took over as head coachin 1966.
The numbers speak for them-selves.
Whether he likes it or not,Paterno will be remembered as agood football coach.
Ive been able to play for himfor two years now, and Ive learnedso much, Redd said. And its asad day today, but well rejoice andcelebrate on Saturday and the
next four games that we need towin.
Despite the near hysterics oncampus this week regardingPaterno, Curley and Penn Statepresident Graham Spanier, theNo. 12 Lions (8-1, 5-0 Big Ten) stillhave a game to play this Saturday.
And its no cakewalk.No. 19 Nebraska (7-2, 3-2 Big
Ten) is visiting Happy Valley forthe time since 2002 to a commencea Big Ten rivalry after a 19-yearhiatus.
Astorino said regardless of allthe attention centered on theschool, the program and the town,the team will put everything out oftheir minds for just a few hours.
Once we put the pads on itskind of a relief for that hour and ahalf two hours and you just donthave to think about it, Astorinosaid. Its going to be a tough thingto do but the character of thisteam I know everybody has I think
we can get through it and try toget a win.
Before Paterno had been fired,Penn State players said they were
willing to do anything to send theircoach out on a high note.
Were gonna do everything that we can to finish this great forhim, said fullback Mike Zordich,
whose father Mike was an All-American in 1985 under Paterno, while holding back tears
Wednesday after the teams meet-ing. And to the end this seasonthe way it needs to be ended, andhopefully get him off the field onsome shoulders.
The Lions will not get thechance to carry their legendarycoach off the field Saturday, butthey can still so him justice.
Atop the Big Ten as the onlyundefeated team in conferenceplay, the Lions are in a positionmany couldnt have predictedbefore the season began.
Additionally, in the wake ofPaternos swift and unexpectedexit, fewer could have predictedthe 84-year old coach would not begiven a proper farewell.
In his statement released onWednesday morning, Paternopromised he would make the mostof his remaining time as the Lions
head coach.My goals now are to keep mycommitments to my players andstaff and finish the season withdignity and determination,Paterno said in his statement.And then I will spend the rest ofmy life doing everything I can tohelp this University.
While hell no longer walk thesidelines, pant legs rolled up justabove the ankle, few would doubtPaterno will continue to devotehimself to the school he loved.
To email reporter: [email protected]
JOE P A T ER N O10 | THURSDAY, NOV. 10, 2011 THE DAILYCOLLEGIAN
Chloe Elmer/Collegian
Penn State head coach Joe Paterno speaks briefly with reporters, but with no comment, while on the way tohis car outside of his home in State College on Tuesday afternoon. Paterno was on his way to coach practice.
Replacing a legendary sports coach not an easy taskBy Andrew Robinson
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
There is no formula to replace alegend.
With the Board of Trusteesannouncement Wednesday nightthat Penn State football coach JoePaterno has been fired effectiveimmediately, a giant questionmark now looms regarding who
will eventually be the 84-year-oldcoachs permanent replacement.
Defensive coordinator TomBradley, who is now the interimreplacement, has long beenrumored to replace the iconiccoach. But, he has not been theonly one. Rumors have circledHappy Valley in recent weeksabout former Florida Gatorscoach Urban Meyer taking over.
And Greg Schiano, Al Golden, BillCowher and Tony Dungy are nodifferent. Regardless of who even-
tually comes in, Paternos shoesare going to be pretty big to fill.
However, Paternos permanentreplacement, whether Bradley orsomeone else, wont be the firstperson attempting to undertakesuch a daunting task.
Some have been successful, likeformer North Carolina basketballcoach Bill Guthridge who followedDean Smith and reached twoFinal Fours in his three seasons.Others failed, such as basketballcoach Glen Miller, who followedFran Dunphy at Penn and wasfired seven games into his fourthseason. No matter the success,legends get replaced.
Id say the majority of peopleassociate a lot of stuff as stressand pressure and so forth, RayPerkins, the man who followedPaul Bear Bryant at Alabama,
said. Im not sure that its that way with most athletes or mostcoaches of all sports. We as coach-es and we as athletes prepare our-selves as best that we possiblycan, and then we go out and try toperform the same way, theabsolute best that we can.
Replacing Bryants 323 winswas no easy task for Perkins, wholasted four seasons coaching theCrimson Tide to a 32-15-1 record.To make matters worse, Perkins
had Alabamas first losing season
in 27 years during his second sea-son in 1984.Perkins, who was an All-
American receiver for Alabama,left what he called the best job inthe NFL as head coach of the New
York Giants to come back to hisalma mater. He is one of manycoaches hired to replace an iconthat had ties to the coach or pro-gram.
Perkins played for Bryant,Guthridge was an assistant toSmith for 30 seasons, and GaryMoeller was an assistant coachunder Bo Schembechler atMichigan before taking over ashead coach.
But coming from the samecoaching tree didnt necessarilymean things stayed the same. Itdepended on the coach.
I had worked for Dean for 30 years, so I was pretty much like
him, said Guthridge, whoreplaced the man who at the time
was college basketballs all-time winningest head coach. We hadgood players and we went to twoFinal Fours in the three years Icoached there. I enjoyed it, I justran out of gas.
It was a little different inTuscaloosa.
We didnt use the same play-book, we didnt use the same prac-tice schedule, and Im sure I madea few decisions that werent realpopular decisions, Perkins said.They were what we believed andhow we believed in doing it. But Iunderstand how people can getstuck on some things. Thats life,thats part of success and part ofmoving on to the next generation.
In the case of Schembechlersretirement from coaching, things
were very unique. Not only wasMoeller a Schembechler disciple,but so was his successor, LloydCarr, and there wasnt a funda-mental change in philosophy.
Frank Beckmann, the radioplay-by-play announcer forMichigan football since 1981, saidit was essentially a seamless tran-sition from Schembechler toMoeller.
Michigan didnt feel the impactof a big change until the [Rich]
Rodriguez hiring to replace Lloyd
Carr, Beckmann said. Thats when Michigan went through it, where somebody from outside aquote, family, was brought in toreplace a member of theSchembechler lineage.
Beckmann said Moeller keptbasically the same system andthat continuity is one of thebiggest keys in the transition peri-od.
For the first few years after acoaching change, the new regimestill has the players the previouscoaching staff recruited, so its notunexpected to see a higher level ofsuccess in the first few years. Astime goes on, however, thingssometimes start to change.
When Mike Davis took over forBob Knight at Indiana, he finished
with at least 21 wins in each of hisfirst three seasons, and he went tothe NCAA title game in 2002. But
his team compiled a .500 recordover the next two seasons and heresigned at the end of the 2006season, despite a return to theNCAA tournament.
It comes a little bit harder forthe administrations and all theother people that have to get usedto a new guy, Perkins said. Theyhave to do things in a little bit dif-ferent ways after theyve beendone the same way for 25 to 30
years. Joe Paterno has been therefor 61 years. Are you kidding me?The next group of people that go inthere, theyre gonna do things abit differently, everybody does.
In a lot of cases, whoever takesover for a legend isnt there for
very long.When he retired from UNC in
2000 after three years as headcoach, Guthridge had been in
coaching since 1962. The formercoach said the long hours and lackof sleep caught up to him prompt-ing him to step away.
Gene Bartow, the man who fol-lowed John Wooden at UCLA,stayed just two seasons on theBruins bench before leaving tostart the basketball program atthe University of Alabama-Birmingham. Moeller resigned atMichigan in 1995 after five yearson the job in the aftermath of an
arrest for disorderly conduct.Ron Zook followed Steve
Spurrier at Florida, but didntmake it three seasons, being firedmidway through the 2004 season.
Perkins opted to not disclose hisreasons for leaving Alabama, butafter giving up the head coaching
job with the New York Giants totake over the Crimson Tide, hereturned to the NFL after four
years in Tuscaloosa.I think everybody [feels pres-
sure] when they get that kind of job, they want to succeed,Beckmann said. They want tohave the same kind of successtheir predecessor had, and its dif-ficult to follow in a legends foot-steps like that because the expec-tations are high. The expectationsare that youre going to continueto succeed like they did.
Beckmann saw that firsthandas he called Moellers games.
Mo ran into his own problemswhen he lost games or wheneverhe tied games. People thought it
was the end of the world,Beckmann said. Suddenly you gofrom 10 wins to nine and peoplethink the sky is falling when itsnot.
It doesnt have to be the imme-diate successor either. When RickPitino left Kentucky, Tubby Smithkept winning, albeit not toWildcats fans expectations, untilhe resigned in 2007. But BillyGillispie, who followed Smith toLexington, didnt win at all and
was out after just two seasons.Guthridge, who called Smith the
best basketball coach ever, said hemet Paterno in the 70s when thePenn State coach tried to recruit
him to take over the Nittany Lionsbasketball program. He followedPaternos career through the
years and said he had the utmostrespect for what Paterno accom-plished in his career, holding himin the same regard he held Smith.
Perkins, who went 1-3 againstPaterno, echoed Guthridges sen-timents regarding Paterno. Theformer Tide coach said Bryant isMr. Alabama and Paterno isabsolutely Mr. Penn State, andthat he was sad to see Paternoscareer closing in this manner.
There is no question fillingPaternos office in the LaschBuilding is not a task that will betaken lightly. Whoever steps in willbe asked to follow a legend, to con-tinue the success Paterno sus-tained and honor his ideals. Whilethis story is yet to be written, the
past shows that the next in line atPenn State will have a monumen-tal task in front of them.
I went in there with my eyesopen and full of pride and honor tohave been the guy chose to follow[Bryant], Perkins said. Thatshow I still feel, I still feel it. I wouldhave done it 10,000 times had I hadthe opportunity. Thats the way Ifelt, thats they way I reacted.
To email reporter: [email protected]
Collegian file photo
Joe Paterno speaks with former Alabama coach Paul Bear Bryant.
Board of Trustees fires Joe Paterno
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JOE P A T ER N O THURSDAY, NOV. 10, 2011 | 11THE DAILYCOLLEGIAN
Former players remember iconic coachEditors note: All interviewswere conducted beforePaterno was fired by theBoard of Trustees Wednesdaynight.
By Steven PetrellaCOLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
When Jack Ham was just an 18-year-old nobody, Joe Paterno gavehim a chance.
Twenty-two years later, whenHam was being inducted into thePro Football Hall of Fame inCanton, Ohio, Paterno was hispresenter.
To the former Penn State line-backer, there was no second, thirdor fourth choice regarding whom
would be there to help him crossthe threshold from greatness tolegendary in Canton.
And Ham owes all of it toPaterno.
He did more for me than any-body else in my life, Ham said. I
will always be in debt to him.Paterno announced Wednesday
that he would step down as headcoach at the conclusion of the 2011season during the fallout of formerdefensive coordinator JerrySanduskys indictment by a grand
jury on charges of child abuse.The 84-year-old leaves the pro-
gram as college footballs win-ningest coach at the Division-Ilevel and has helped establishPenn States overall image ofcharacter and Success withHonor.
I think hes done an outstand-ing job of creating an identity foran entire university the way theran the football program, formertight end Mickey Shuler Sr., whoplayed from 1976-1979, said. Improud to have been associated
with him and the things that havehappened at Penn State. Im sure
when this settles, Penn State willcontinue to do things with theright attitude and the rightactions.
Ham, who is synonymous withPenn States history of outstand-ing linebackers, got the last schol-arship offer Paterno had to giveafter the linebacker finished apost-graduate year atMassanutten Military Academy inWoodstock, Va.
He gave Ham the opportunity -and it changed his life forever.
Without him, I dont know where my life would be, Hamsaid. I wasnt Jack Ham the all-pro player. I was just a nobody 18-
year-old.
For former offensive guard RonCoder, Paterno changed his life forthe better, as well.
He belonged to a military family- his father was stationed in Japanduring his high school days.
Coders grandfather sent somePenn State assistant coaches,
with whom he was close, aChristmas card. And since Coder
was so much bigger than hisbrothers at the time, Penn State
said he could walk on and try toearn a scholarship.
And he did.The lessons that you learn and
you take care of the little thingsand the big things will take care ofthemselves, Coder said. Just thedevelopment of character and theemphasis and you be a good per-son in the community not just agood football player. A lot of hisformer players are doing some-thing worthwhile. So thats a trib-ute to his teachings and his lead-
ership.Former defensive end Dave
Robinson said he remembers agame in the early 1960s whenPaterno was still an assistantunder Penn State coach RipEngle, in which the head coach
was so upset about how his teamplayed, he wouldnt talk to his play-ers at halftime.
So Paterno stepped up, with theteam down, and said, You guys
just broke the heart of one of thegreatest men in football.
The team took to Paternoswords immediately and went outand dominated in the second halfto get the win. Even as an assis-tant, he motivated. He coached.He inspired that second halfcomeback.
I cant understand why every-one wants to try and ruin thename of one of the greatest coach-es in football, Robinson said.Theres so many bad things infootball that we never get to cher-ish the good things. Joe Paterno isone of the good things about foot-ball. Joe Paterno is one of the goodthings about Penn State and aboutcollege football in general.
Teaching life lessonsShuler said hes been able to
carry the life lessons instilled by
Paterno with him well past hisdays on the football field.
I think Joes been one of themost consistent influences in mylife as far as a coach, Shuler said.The things he created for myselfand my teammates are life longthings and I think hes alwaysbeen able to figure out how to han-dle all kinds of situations from
when I as there.Former offensive tackle Gerald
Cadogan said Paterno had anunparalleled ability to motivate his
players.But it wasnt just on the field.
Paternos tools in motivationapplied in the classroom andthroughout the entire university,
which encompasses everythinghes stood for and everything thathas been established.
Ill remember his mindset andhis mentality to motivate us,Cadogan said.
Not only for that game or thatweek, but in life and things that Istill carry with me today.
Ham said his most importantlesson learned under the Hall ofFame coach was how to be ahuman being and not let footballconsume everything.
He wanted his players to staylevelheaded.
He made you understand, when youre an 18, 19-year-old,just because youre a football play-er, doesnt make you any better orany worse, Ham said.
Football is not the most impor-tant thing in your life. I alwayscarry that with me in my life afterPenn State. You can go out and bea positive role model in your lifemoving forward.
Forever linkedWhile Paterno has devoted
most of his life to Penn State and
helped turn boys into men duringhis 62 years in Happy Valley, he
won some football games too.Some big football games. And he
won a lot of them.Coder said Paternos coaching
in terms of football preparationand adjustment is unparalleled.
The press always teased PennState for being three yards and acloud of dust. Dive left, dive rightand punt, Coder said of theNittany Lions simple offenses rununder Paterno.
Coder played with HeismanTrophy winner John Cappellettiand said his former teammate isone of the most humble guys heknows.
He credits some of that to whatPaterno did to keep his teamgrounded and in control, no mat-ter how much success the playershad on the field.
You see a guy like John, heprobably wouldve been OK if he
was cocky because of what heaccomplished, Coder said.
Hes one of the most humbleguys youll ever meet and thatsthe kind of character Joe developsat Penn State. The Penn Statefootball player is humble and
when you get out, it stays withyou.
Shuler said while Paternoalways kept it simple, it was aboutplaying the percentages and keep-ing everything within reach andreason.
I dont think much has changedin the game of football, differentsituations, Shuler said of howPaterno coaches now, but its thesame stuff we did when I was play-ing there.
Coder said Paterno was able tocreate a fraternal atmospherethroughout the program.
It wasnt just a single class or a
single team, but its the entire
community spanning from the1960s to today.
Coder said hes still friendlywith guys from teams in the 1980s,although he played in the early70s. He added the players from theearly 2000s, in which the programstruggled, still share that fraternalbond with playersfrom 30 years prior.
That would be a commontheme through all the guys, hereally emphasized respect for oth-ers, Coder said. He developed achemistry among teams thatsstill there today. He created a com-mon bond even with guys that did-nt play on such good teams. Its agreat fraternity.
And now the team will have tocontinue that bond withoutPaterno.
Theyve shown a resilience all year by winning close games.Theyve been through all that,Ham said.
The most talented footballteam? Probably not. But as ateam, you gather that resolve andrealize that [this Saturday] is theseniors last game. This team hasshown the ability to stay focusedand win pressure games and thisis just anotherone.
Cadogan said the team just hasto push everything aside, althoughhe said it would definitely be a dis-traction during the week.
Its going to come down to thesenior leadership and knowingthat Nebraska is a good, solidteam, Cadogan said.
They just have to stay focusedand go out there and continue to
win because theyve done nothingwrong in this situation.
Shuler said regardless of anysituation, Paterno has found a wayto handle it.
Family issues, his kids falling offa trampoline or anything else - theteam was ready to play comeSaturday.
He always found a way to keepthe team focused and things mov-ing in the right direction, Shulersaid.
His actions and his stan-dards...hes been golden.
But now, with all that hasengulfed State College and madeit the pinpoint of the nationalmedias focus during the last fivedays, Shuler still thinks PennState will return to its days ofcharacter that Paterno pridedhimself and his program on.
Even though he wont be here,Paterno has paved the way for
that.My whole entire family hasgone to Penn State. Were veryPenn State proud and Im surePenn State will bring itself back inthe right directions and the rightsequence of events, Shuler said.Positive things will come out ofthis. I just feel awful for the alleged
victims. But Im sure the PennState way will prevail.
To email reporter: [email protected]
By Joe McIntyreCOLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
Hes ingrained in the fabric ofeverything Penn State.
Not just the now of this teamand the nine games before hisannouncement at 11 a.m.Wednesday morning. And not justthe last half decade or six decades.
Joe Paterno is in the blood ofPenn State and its players. Hisattitude and his dedication runsnot only through this teams veins,but their parents veins and theirgrandparents veins. He epito-mizes this university.
But hes gone. Fired from thetradition he built during his morethan six decades in State College.
Joe Paterno is Penn State, anda lot of people know that and know
what Im talking about, line-backer Nate Stupar saidWednesday afternoon beforePaterno was fired. Its going to be
weird to come around next season watching the sidelines and notseeing Joe, not seeing him in thepress [box] or anything. Its a
difficult time right now.It all happened so fast. Just
days ago the team was enjoying aSaturday off. Many went home tobe with their families.
No one saw this coming.The legend was supposed to be
the coach of the Lions forever.Of course hes 84 years old, but
the thought never crept into theminds of the team, fullbackMichael Zordich said.
As players flowed out of theLasch Building following the offi-cial announcement of Paternosretirement, some had their headsdown, some had their hoods on.Some walked away and gave onlya shake of the hand, too distraughtto comment.
Some spoke, though. It mayhave been with an implausiblelook on their face and a glassed-over look in their eyes, but theytried to express what the endmeant.
As he was asked his first ques-tion, Zordich, the son of a formerLion defensive back, uttered anexasperated sigh and shook his
head. His eyes were red.I never thought that I would
hear those words come from JoePaternos mouth, Zordich saidbefore Paternos removal. Hesbeen here for so long, its unfortu-nate to have to hear them.
As Paterno stepped up to thepodium in the squad room of theLasch Building, players were
waiting for the inevitable.Their coach, the one with 409
wins, the wrinkled face and thick,Coke bottle glasses was going totell them that they were to be thelast team he will ever coach.
They didnt know they hadalready seen his last game.
After 45 years as head coach ofthe Lions, this 8-1 team ended it.These 123 guys were the last onesPaterno coached at BeaverStadium.
He was crying, verydepressed, cornerback StephonMorris said of Paterno before histermination. Never seen Coachget like that. Never seen coachesget that way. Never seen nobodyget that down before.
The team received a text mes-sage just after 10 a.m. this morn-ing. A previously unscheduledmeeting was going to be held inthe Lasch Building.
Team meetings are generally at2:45 p.m. before practice at 4:30.They werent exactly positive as tothe message of the meeting, butthere was a general sentiment asto what the news would be.
The team heard the rumors,they saw what the masses weresaying. But still, Joe would neverleave. Not like this.
Its huge, I cant really wrap myhead around it right now, line-backer Michael Mauti said beforePaterno was fired. As a team, we
just got out of that meeting inthere, and its not really some-thing I can describe in words.
After Paterno gave his speech,the players gave a standing ova-tion. Paterno is someone whoembodies and exemplifies dedica-tion and perseverance, offensivelineman Chima Okoli said.
They were in the presence ofgreatness at its weakest.
Okoli said Paternos last wordsbefore he left explained how theplayers would forever be linked toPenn State football. They wouldforever be a family.
I came here a boy, and Imgoing to leave a man, Okoli saidbefore Paterno was fired. Andthats all due to Joe Paterno.
Still, somehow, the team needsto put this behind them. Theyneed to put behind the fact thatthey will be the team by which JoePaterno will be forever syn-onymized. For good or bad, thisgroup of young men is the denoue-ment of Paternos illustriouscoaching career.
Im going to be playing my lastfootball game with some peoplethat Ive spent five years withsome people I really, really careabout, senior safety Drew
Astorino said. Were playing forall weve worked for in the pastfive years. Im not sure what toexpect, but I know were going toplay together.
To email reporter:[email protected]
Chloe Elmer/Collegian
Nick Sukay (1) and Michael Zordich (9) take down an Eastern Michigan player at Beaver Stadium.
Bryan Wade Heritage/Collegian
Michael Mauti (42) attempts to tackle Temples Bernard Pierce (30).
Players, Paterno emotional at meeting
Collegian file photo
Jack Ham (33) played under Joe Paterno in the 1960s and 1970s, earning All-American recognition.
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8/3/2019 Paterno Commemorative Edition
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JOE P AT ER N O12 | THURSDAY, NOV. 10, 2011 THE DAILYCOLLEGIAN
JOEPA THROUGH THE YEARSNot much has changed about Joe. He may be a little bit more wrinkled, his step may be a little bitslower and his hair may be a little grayer, but he's still Joe. He's still the same Joe that joined the
Penn State staff as an assistant coach for Rip Engle in 1950. He's still the same Joe that created anational powerhouse at a farm school in the middle of Pennsylvania. And he's still the same Joe
that changed the landscape of college football.
Some may say their perception of the coach has changed over the last week, but behind those coke-
bottled glasses and rolled up khakis is the same man that has patroled the Penn State sideline for62 years. People's opinion can change. But Joe's image will last forever.
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