During his 37-year Penn State career, as a player and coach, Tom Bradley claims he had the honor of being yelled at the most by Joe Paterno.

But Bradley said he knows it made him a better man.

“This was a great man and a great person,” Bradley said. “And it has nothing to do with his victories on the football field. It’s how many people he’s helped and touched their lives in different ways.”

Former Penn State football lettermen, their families and other selected guests were invited to a private viewing of Joe Paterno’s casket before it was opened to the public at 1 p.m. Tuesday.

Despite short notice, at least 250 former players were estimated to have gathered in State College to honor their late coach. Among the notable former Nittany Lions were Kerry Collins, Jack Ham, Franco Harris and Adam Taliaferro.

The day after Paterno was fired Nov. 9 in the wake of a child sex abuse scandal involving former defensive Jerry Sandusky, Bradley said Paterno meant more to him than any man but his father.

Tuesday, Bradley was the last person to walk through Paterno’s private viewing for selected guests before it was opened to the public.

He said Paterno is probably looking down at the long line of people waiting to honor him, and asking what they were all doing there.

“That was just the way he was,” Bradley said. “He hated to waste time. If you got so much of it, he would say, you got to make the best of it.”

Players from all generations came out of the viewing in groups, like wide receivers Jordan Norwood and Deon Butler, who were both seniors in 2008.

Former running back Larry Johnson, who was joined by former quarterback Zack Mills and former defensive tackle
Anthony Adams, among others, said being back with his old teammates evoked memories of their freshman year, living together in Shunk Hall.

He said they talked about the fear of Paterno screaming at them; he’d come running over from 50 yards away to scream at them in his high pitched voice.

“It was good to share those memories because we forgot about some of them,” Johnson said. “We would say, ‘Oh remember when Joe used to do this,’ and it was kind of fun to share some of those memories.”

Paterno became a national icon during his storied 62 years in Happy Valley. Some will remember the last two months
of his career, but former tight end Kyle Brady said he hopes everyone will remember the Paterno he knew.

“He demanded so much of all of us,” Brady said. “And at times, we didn’t always understand why and maybe had our share of disagreements. Now looking back, we all know why. He was trying to make us in to men.”

Bradley said seeing so many former lettermen Tuesday was unfortunate given the circumstances, but the overwhelming support from those former players and the entire Penn State community shows its strength.

“To see all the players who came back and those who were touched by him is quite a tribute to just a great, great man,” Bradley said.