As Penn State , it seems eons ago that the Nittany Lions football program was engulfed in a sexual abuse scandal that led to severe sanctions and the firing of legendary coach Joe Paterno.Yet three players who committed to Penn State while Paterno was still the coach are still on the Nittany Lions' roster in theRose Bowl.MORE Duron Harmon Jersey : Safety Malik Golden and offensive linemen Derek Dowrey and Brian Gaia, all fifth-year seniors, talked with the to share their story of a roller-coaster career in Happy Valley,which included investigations, sanctionsand the resignation of the coach who recruited them."You have the sense of being part of something bigger and something like this was Deion Sanders Jersey the end goal,"Gaia told the Times. "Everyone who stuck it out always had each other to fall back on. We all knew that something special was po sible."After all three players committed, ascandal erupted involving sexual abuses committed by longtime Penn State a sistantJerry Sandusky, and the football program's negligence ininvestigating claims of abuse through the years. Penn State fired Paterno in November 2011, and the NCAA levied hefty sanctions that Calvin Ridley T Shirts included $60 million in fines, stripping the school of scholarshipsand imposing a four-year postseason ban.Golden told the Times he visitedother schools, but opted not to leave.MORE: "(Penn State) is the end all, be all for me. Thats home," he said.The three players who were initially drawn to Penn State by the football program'slegendaryhistory and a chance to be part of that tradition instead found themselves Todd Gurley II Jersey in a program decimated by scandal. But they stuck it out."I was just a kid but in that moment it hit me all at once,"Dowrey said, recounting a conversation with his father. "It was, 'Wow, this is so up in the air right now. It was scary not knowing.'"With Penn State back as a national power under coach James Franklin, Golden admits the strange events of his five-year career at Penn Statefeelsurreal."Being here," Golden said, Younghoe Koo Jersey "it still doesnt feel real."