Cefalo told the story of having visited another school and deciding he wanted to go there. But when he got home to inform his parents, there sat a guest in the family kitchen. It was Paterno.
"My mother was ladling some tomato sauce over his pasta," Cefalo said. "My father was pouring him a glass of his homemade wine. And Joe ignored me. He looked at my mother and I saw a twinkle in his eye and he said, 'Mrs. Cefalo, this pasta is better than Mrs. Cappelletti's.' At the age of 17, I thought, 'Oh, that's below the belt, Joe.'
"I never had that conversation with my mother and father about that university I was going to go to. I was a Penn Stater from that moment forward."
Cefalo was being recruited in 1973, the same season that Upper Darby's John Cappelletti became Paterno's only Heisman Trophy winner.
The story about feeding Paterno hit home with Zordich, who played safety for the Nittany Lions from 1982 through 1985. Zordich's mother dealt directly with Paterno on two occasions - when he was recruiting her son and, more than 25 years later, her grandson, Michael, a fullback who just completed his junior season.
"He had her basically when he walked in the door," said Zordich, now an assistant coach with the Eagles. "My mother is Italian, so they're right up the same alley. We had the pasta going. We had the wine going. Hearing Jimmy tell that story, it was really neat.
"It was awe-inspiring to have Joe Paterno in your home. But the effect on the parents was more. He visited me twice and my parents invited all of these friends over. It was never a problem for him.
