Former Penn State defensive lineman Josh Gaines wrote two letters to his former coach, Joe Paterno, in the last two years. The former Northrop standout shared what he wrote to Paterno, who died last Sunday, with The Journal Gazette:

Dec. 14, 2011

Dear Joe,

You are an outstanding man! I am proud to say that I have played for a man with your passion, integrity, and respect for the game. You have dedicated your life to helping young men understand the rules of life. There isn’t a day that goes by where the lessons learned on the field go absent in my world. You have helped scope me to be an outstanding individual, and everywhere I go I am reminded of this from everyone. I owe a lot of my personal growth to the standards you held us to with being called a “Penn State Nittany Lion.”

No other coach would I have played for. No other teammates would I have played next to. No other rules would I have changed. No other jersey would I have worn. Thanks to you, am I proud to say I played at Penn State University. We Are........

Sincerely,

Josh Gaines “the Indiana kid”

Nov. 22, 2010

Josh Gaines, Class of 2008:

My entire college experience at Penn State could be summed up in two words: Purely Amazing! I could have not picked a more fitting and more valuable university to attend. Each experience taught us something new and forced us to test ourselves, pushing through certain situations that seemed completely out of line and unjust at the time. As a young freshman, the adjustment to college was probably the hardest thing I had to endure. Balancing football, my school work, and maintaining a social life at times seemed almost impossible. However, as time went on I began to realize and truly understand the life long principles I was being taught. I began to understand what it meant to be a Penn State Nittany Lion.

The best memory of college that I have of my coach, Joe Paterno, would definitely have to be his resiliency to bounce back from his injuries. Never would I have thought to see a man at his age come back from a broken leg the way that he did. Once I had found out that he had broken his leg, I really did not expect to see him for a while. But to my surprise, he did not miss a beat. The following week, he was coaching from a go-kart on the practice field. Not once changing his coaching style. He still continued to yell, and it was “work as usual.” The following year, after beating Michigan State to go on to the Rose Bowl, I was home for thanksgiving break just enjoying the usual bowl of cereal, watching ESPN, only to find out that Joe Paterno just had a hip replacement. In the back of my mind I’m honestly thinking, “This guy does not have much time left.” Little did I know the surprise I was in store for. I got back to school and reported to a squad meeting to find Joe walking to the podium. The best part was the doctors were begging him to have a seat and he was completely ignoring them. His resiliency and strength was an inspiration. No matter his age, being a coach to us was the most important thing. Nothing stood in his way, no situation or injury. He made us feel important, that what we were doing together was something extremely special.

Although I never got a chance to win that national championship I came to Penn State to win, I left with valuable knowledge of life. I found that it takes a certain individual to come to Penn State, but it takes a man to finish. There are a lot of “must do’s” as a football player at Penn State: Check-in’s to breakfast in the morning, to being weighed in and ready to lift 10 minutes before a workout. In the end, the things I thought were irrelevant are actually very relevant and show up every day of my life. The world is cruel and a lot of the time you will be alone on an island. Joe was tough on us because he understands the struggles of life and he has equipped us with methods of survival. I will never be able to fully thank him, but I hope he knows that he has affected generations of men and this knowledge I will pass off to my children to help advance them as well.