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Pocono: seriously? Paterno ran a "clean" program?? My former next door neighbor in Dallas was a PSU grad that knew a bunch of guys who played for Paterno at PSU. Suffice it to say there were plenty of "extra benefits" for players and it was pretty well known to anyone close to the team. That would have been back in the 80's and I doubt they suddenly cleaned everything up after joining the Big 10. One big difference is that program is beloved in State College and in PA as a whole so I doubt there are a bunch of investigative journalists out trying to bring the program down just to make a name for themselves. The Sandusky matter was a whole different issue and really had nothing to do with recruiting and how football players were treated at PSU.

mrydel wrote:Just stated he was resigning, not retiring. Wonder what his plans are?

Spurrier has talked for years about how he was going to "get out" of the SC job. He was aware of negative recruiting that was going on with everyone using his age against him ("he won't be there for the 3-4 years you will be"). Most people close to the SC program thought he might retire after last year, but he's said he still doesn't feel old enough to "retire". Pretty sure he's done coaching at the college level because he understands this level is all about recruiting, but he has said he may coach H.S. (if he wants to keep coaching) or might stay involved in some capacity with the program at South Carolina. His son is still on the staff and he has grandkids here, so it will be interesting to see what he ends up doing. He's given back a lot to S.C. including millions of dollars in contributions towards various projects at the school.

Charleston Pony wrote:Pocono: seriously? Paterno ran a "clean" program?? My former next door neighbor in Dallas was a PSU grad that knew a bunch of guys who played for Paterno at PSU. Suffice it to say there were plenty of "extra benefits" for players and it was pretty well known to anyone close to the team. That would have been back in the 80's and I doubt they suddenly cleaned everything up after joining the Big 10. One big difference is that program is beloved in State College and in PA as a whole so I doubt there are a bunch of investigative journalists out trying to bring the program down just to make a name for themselves. The Sandusky matter was a whole different issue and really had nothing to do with recruiting and how football players were treated at PSU.

"My best friend's sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who's going with the girl who saw Ferris pass out at 31 Flavors last night. I guess it's pretty serious."

Haha, sorry, that's just the first thing I thought of when I started reading your post.

Charleston Pony wrote:Pocono: seriously? Paterno ran a "clean" program?? My former next door neighbor in Dallas was a PSU grad that knew a bunch of guys who played for Paterno at PSU. Suffice it to say there were plenty of "extra benefits" for players and it was pretty well known to anyone close to the team. That would have been back in the 80's and I doubt they suddenly cleaned everything up after joining the Big 10. One big difference is that program is beloved in State College and in PA as a whole so I doubt there are a bunch of investigative journalists out trying to bring the program down just to make a name for themselves. The Sandusky matter was a whole different issue and really had nothing to do with recruiting and how football players were treated at PSU.

I have been close to a few of the players, several coaches and several of his close friends at PSU for the past 10 years including current team members. Paterno ran a clean program, graduated his players and held the line. His biggest failing during the final period was recruiting high level kids who turned out to have too many inter-city issues when they got to campus. The number of kids who found trouble his last 5 years was high and the institutional control at PSU was lost when the President of the school gave him the authority over football team disciplinary issues rather than the university official responsible for the honor code for all students. His discipline was feared and he never backed down believing a lesson in life was more important than a football game. He was very proud of running a clean program and believed that was one of the most important things he could do and teach. Obviously, with every program there are some kids and alums who are on the edge, but not if JoPa were aware of it.

PoconoPony wrote:

Charleston Pony wrote:Pocono: seriously? Paterno ran a "clean" program?? My former next door neighbor in Dallas was a PSU grad that knew a bunch of guys who played for Paterno at PSU. Suffice it to say there were plenty of "extra benefits" for players and it was pretty well known to anyone close to the team. That would have been back in the 80's and I doubt they suddenly cleaned everything up after joining the Big 10. One big difference is that program is beloved in State College and in PA as a whole so I doubt there are a bunch of investigative journalists out trying to bring the program down just to make a name for themselves. The Sandusky matter was a whole different issue and really had nothing to do with recruiting and how football players were treated at PSU.

I have been close to a few of the players, several coaches and several of his close friends at PSU for the past 10 years including current team members. Paterno ran a clean program, graduated his players and held the line. His biggest failing during the final period was recruiting high level kids who turned out to have too many inter-city issues when they got to campus. The number of kids who found trouble his last 5 years was high and the institutional control at PSU was lost when the President of the school gave him the authority over football team disciplinary issues rather than the university official responsible for the honor code for all students. His discipline was feared and he never backed down believing a lesson in life was more important than a football game. He was very proud of running a clean program and believed that was one of the most important things he could do and teach. Obviously, with every program there are some kids and alums who are on the edge, but not if JoPa were aware of it.

His biggest problem was ignoring Sandusky.

Been debunked on pay sites