Famous Joe Paterno Quotations

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"[I'm not here] necessarily to praise the quality of the recruiting class, although I think it's a good one. I just wanted to make sure that everybody knows I thought the [staff] did a great job. And when I say [staff], I mean everyone in this building."
by Joe Paterno
"[For the second consecutive week, timeouts were used by Beaver Stadium crew members to rush out on the field and replace divots.] This week and last week is the first time I can remember in a long, long time that we had have that kind of situation, ... It isn't because we have been on that field a lot, because we haven't."
by Joe Paterno
"Besides pride, loyalty, discipline, heart, and mind, confidence is the key to all the locks."
by Joe Paterno
"Believe deep down in your heart that you're destined to do great things."
by Joe Paterno
"Cincinnati should have beaten Ohio State the year they won the national championship, ... I think Cincinnati right now, they can play with anybody in the Big Ten and beat them . . . anybody, whether it's Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State or whomever it may be."
by Joe Paterno
"He is a good football player. He is not a great football player. But the fact that he has gone through this I think has helped him with some other kids. He has been able to go to other kids and talk to them a little."
by Joe Paterno
"he said. I don't see any reasons for us to change up on him."
by Joe Paterno
"I can run around and yell at people, scream at people. Everything I could do when I was a younger coach."
by Joe Paterno
"I can't do a lot of signing. You guys are great."
by Joe Paterno
"I don't know how else to say it. An element of the job that I loved has been taken away from me."
by Joe Paterno
"I feel for Paul. He's one of those kids that's never been hurt. He's not only a great player, but he's a great person."
by Joe Paterno
"I don't want to get carried away here. We've got a long way to go."
by Joe Paterno
"I don't look at it as something personal. All I wanted to do was make sure everyone knew that we have a good football team."
by Joe Paterno
"I feel good about the team. I just don't know whether I've done the right job in getting them ready. Anything I've asked them to do, they've done. Now, whether I've asked them to do the right things is something I've got to constantly evaluate."
by Joe Paterno
"I looked at my watch 12:30, quarter to one. I kept saying to myself, 'When are we going to get this thing over?"
by Joe Paterno
"I never really felt like we were far away."
by Joe Paterno
"I said after we beat South Florida, that was a fine team. But nobody was paying any attention to me."
by Joe Paterno
"I think we played a pretty good football game overall. I think we played as well as we could at this time of the year."
by Joe Paterno
"I think that this team has played so well together that they've played themselves into being a good team. I told the team before the season that we weren't going to practice to win six or seven games. Now, fortunately, things have worked out for us."
by Joe Paterno
"I think Michael Robinson is developing into a really good quarterback."
by Joe Paterno
"I told him that he got a little careless and to forget about it."
by Joe Paterno
"I thought you said this guy was good."
by Joe Paterno
"It's all part of the game. A player gets hurt. Someone has to step up. The squad will encourage the other kids that will have to step in there. Sure it's a loss. We'd love to have him. But we just have to go without him, and the squad understands that."
by Joe Paterno
"It's a little different what you are doing in practice and when you are in a ballgame and want to make an extra yard and you get a little bit careless with the football. That should come with experience."
by Joe Paterno
"Let's talk about the football team. We are playing a game here on Saturday, ... Who cares about my future?"
by Joe Paterno
"losing hasn't bothered me as much as people might think it has. I don't come home smiling. But it may have made me a better coach."
by Joe Paterno
"Oh that (darn) horse. Are they (FSU officials) bringing that horse again? Is he going to be on our field? I'm going to make Bobby ride him, or at least clean up his dirt."
by Joe Paterno
"Oh, that (darn) horse. Is he going to be out there on the field? I'm going to make Bobby ride him."
by Joe Paterno
"probably play the game the same way."
by Joe Paterno
"So we are putting 'Chase Freddie' in today, ... a Get Freddie."
by Joe Paterno
"Success without honor is an unseasoned dish it will satisfy your hunger, but it won't taste good."
by Joe Paterno
"That kid is a good quarterback, ... He scrambles well and has got a lot of poise, but we let him off the hook too many times."
by Joe Paterno
"The only part of our game that's really not been what I'd like it to be would probably be the kickoff game. And there again you've got to give the other guy credit. I think we've done all right."
by Joe Paterno
"The quarterback is new. They had an outstanding quarterback last year. They lost a lot of players."
by Joe Paterno
"there's potential to be good."
by Joe Paterno
"They do the things they have to do. They kick the ball well. They hang on to the football. They don't make it easy for you. They're adaptable. I think that's the sign of a good football team."
by Joe Paterno
"They appear to be a little bigger and stronger than us physically across the board, ... This is one of the best teams that you'll ever see; not just this year, but in all the years I've been coaching."
by Joe Paterno
"They respect him not only because he's a good football player, but for the kind of person he is. In that sense, he's had a very positive impact."
by Joe Paterno
"This year has been one of the most rewarding. To win this one this way at the end of the year, it's a great tribute to these kids and to a great coaching staff. It was great to cap it off with a win like this."
by Joe Paterno
"We didn't get the lineup we liked. Michael (Robinson) didn't like it."
by Joe Paterno
"We tried to tell him he was a guy who could help us get better in a hurry."
by Joe Paterno
"We will have a chance to look at some kids in the summer who might influence where we go. What we play will be determined by how many kings we have and how many pawns we have."
by Joe Paterno
"We've got to find ways to get him the football, there's no question about that."
by Joe Paterno
"Whether it is big, important, another game or not, I don't know. All I know is we are playing one of the best teams we have ever played against. Ohio State is an outstanding football team. They are extremely well-coached. There isn't a facet of their game that isn't really good. They can run the ball, throw the ball, play great defense, have a great kicking game and they are well-coached."
by Joe Paterno
"You take a look at that run of Tony Hunt's and you see how (Williams) literally just busted his butt to get over there to make a play,"
by Joe Paterno
"Act like you expect to get into the end zone."
by Joe Paterno
"You need to play with supreme confidence, or else you'll lose again, and then losing becomes a habit."
by Joe Paterno
"You have to perform at a consistently higher level than others. That's the mark of a true professional."
by Joe Paterno
"The minute you think you have it made, disaster is just around the corner."
by Joe Paterno


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