"Whatever the details of the investigation are, this much is clear to me: If there is a villain in this tragedy it lies in that investigation, not in Joe Paterno's response to it."

Phil Knight, Nike chairman

“He has left us with life lessons on and off the field. JoePa, thank you for being a father to all of us.”

Jeff Bast, the first “mayor of Paternoville”

The memorial had a number of recruiting stories, including one from linebacker Michael Mauti, whose father and brother played at Penn State.

Mauti said he and his father were visiting the university, but he had told his mother he wouldn’t commit.

“Joe looked at me and in his voice said, ‘What do you think kid? What’s it going to be?’ ” Mauti said.

His reply: “I’m here.”

His father asked him if was sure, but Paterno stepped in saying, “Mauti, shut up. You heard the kid, he’s coming.”

“He would always say ‘Hustle, hustle, something good is gonna happen if you just hustle.’ Franco (Harris), he always took credit and probably rightfully so, for the touchdown you scored against the Oakland Raiders.”

Jimmy Cefalo, referring to Harris’ “Immaculate Reception”

“He’d be wondering why all the people were in here — don’t you have something better to do? Coach hated to waste time. I know that’s what he’d be saying right now — don’t you have something better to do than to do this? That’s just the way he was. And you’re never going to get the last word in with him, so it didn’t matter.”

former coach Tom Bradley

“It was about the team. Football was his experimental lab for that, because there was no greater place to teach the value of team than the football field, with 11 people having to be on the same page and sacrifice individual desires for the betterment of the team, how you can succeed together and achieve more when you work together as a group.” Todd Blackledge