Photos by Pat Little / Reuters

Former Penn State football assistant coach Mike McQueary, right, waits with fellow mourners prior to a public viewing of former head coach Joe Paterno at Penn State University on Jan. 24, 2012. Mourners of Paterno adjusted to life without the man who was the face of the university for half a century on Monday while coming to terms with a legacy tainted by his inactive role in a child sexual abuse scandal.

Former Penn State football assistant coach Mike McQueary is embraced by a fellow mourner.

The Associated Press reports Penn State football players past and present filed past the closed casket of Joe Paterno at the campus spiritual center Tuesday, mourning the coach who helped shape the university for more than a half century. Among those paying their respects was Mike McQueary, a key figure in the events that led to Paterno's firing.

The 85-year-old Paterno, the winningest coach in major college football, died Sunday. His lung cancer was disclosed in November, just days after he was fired.

Related stories:

• Joe Paterno: 1926 - 2012
• Michael Ventre: Paterno’s greatness can’t erase a bad ending
• Lydell Mitchell: ‘We won’t let Joe’s legacy die’
• Paterno’s passing will have a minimal effect on the scandal case

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