BTN.com staff, January 22, 2012

With the death of Joe Paterno, we invite you to leave your respects for the former Penn State football coach via the comments box at the end of this post. BTN.com will display a sampling of the submissions. You can also leave your comments on the Big Ten Network's Facebook page. Watch our video Remembering Joe Paterno now. Also, in this post, find Twitter reaction to Paterno's death.

Former players react on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/#!/MomentOfSilas25/status/161114857557594112

https://twitter.com/#!/dmoye6/status/161110450237489152

https://twitter.com/#!/RealMikeRob/status/161112819083915265

https://twitter.com/#!/CaptainClark17/status/161119108233052160

https://twitter.com/#!/LaVarArrington/status/161111868415545344

https://twitter.com/#!/aqshipley/status/161110280649183233

https://twitter.com/#!/DWheelz12/status/161133335941365761

https://twitter.com/#!/BAM_PJones413/status/161115155495788544

https://twitter.com/#!/theking1/status/161108690794057729

https://twitter.com/#!/Tali43/status/161112461427228673

https://twitter.com/#!/G_Zug_5/status/161114780172697600

https://twitter.com/#!/thenastynate34/status/161108879000875008

https://twitter.com/#!/AaronMaybin51/status/160923648872554496

https://twitter.com/#!/jordaNorwood/status/161110964186521601

Others react:

https://twitter.com/#!/Coach_Chambers/status/161109665604845568

https://twitter.com/#!/ESPN_ReceDavis/status/161114464492584960

https://twitter.com/#!/Mark_Schlabach/status/161125017466314752

https://twitter.com/#!/BTNGlenMason/status/161131661227073538

https://twitter.com/#!/JayPaterno/status/161117943567093760

https://twitter.com/#!/Ricardo21Allen/status/161132350518992896

https://twitter.com/#!/JJWatt/status/161146770636816384

https://twitter.com/#!/ArreliousBenn/status/161138517672595457

https://twitter.com/#!/LBF44/status/161144825960341504

https://twitter.com/#!/DaveBrandonAD/status/161125640119128064

https://twitter.com/#!/DeseanJackson10/status/161126526396542977

Michigan State head football coach Mark Dantonio:

?On behalf of my immediate family and the Michigan State football family, we express our deepest sympathy to Joe Paterno?s wife Sue, his five children and 17 grandchildren, as well as his extended family, the Penn State football family and the entire State College community.

?Joe dedicated his life to Penn State and college football. He had unparalleled success during his 46 seasons as the head coach at Penn State. Joe was a major player who helped revolutionize the game of college football. In his six-plus decades at Penn State, he influenced and impacted countless numbers of players and people at a championship level.

?Over the past five years, my wife and I have had the privilege of spending time with both Joe and his wife Sue. We appreciated and enjoyed the time spent at our various functions together and will forever remember him as a steward of our profession.?

Ohio State Coach Urban Meyer on Joe Paterno:

?I am deeply saddened to learn about the passing of Coach Joe Paterno. He was a man who I have deep respect for as a human being, as a husband and father, as a leader and as a football coach. I was very fortunate to have been able to develop a personal relationship with him, especially over the course of the last several years, and it is something that I will always cherish.

?My prayers and thoughts go out to his wife, Sue, and to their family, and also to the family he had at Penn State University. We have lost a remarkable person and someone who affected the lives of so many people in so many positive ways. His presence will be dearly missed. His legacy as a coach, as a winner and as a champion will carry on forever.?

Statement from Wisconsin Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez:

?Today is a sad day. Joe made a difference. He impacted a lot of people. He made a difference in a community, in a college and in college football. He was truly special and an icon. For someone to continue to do what he did through different generations and for such a long period of time and be effective was amazing. I?ve considered Joe a friend and a mentor. This is sad day for college football and the Penn State community. Our thoughts and prayers go out to them and the Paterno family.?

Statement from Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema:

?Coach Paterno obviously did so many wonderful things for a number of years, not only with the success of his teams on the field but the number of lives he shaped. I hope people remember his lifetime achievements. From day one, when I joined the head coaching ranks and was fortunate enough to cross paths with him at coaches meetings and various functions, he was always very engaging and complimentary of the way we did things at Wisconsin and how we played. I enjoyed competing with him at every level. Our Badger football family sends our condolences and deepest sympathies to the Penn State community and the Paterno family.?