He stands in the tunnel and waits for the football team to arrive at the stadium.
Same place, same time, same matching jacket, T-shirt and hat.
The slogan on all three is the same.
Grandpap of No. 47 Gino Capone.
If you've ever stood there, you've probably seen him. He's a short man. He's also the one with the glow in his eyes as his grandson turns the corner from the locker room to walk through the tunnel and into Beaver Stadium.
But before transforming into a rough and tough football player, there's a moment when every family value that Gino has ever been taught comes to the surface.
Because as he turns that corner, Gino finds his grandpap and gives him a hug.
After all, to Gino, family is one of the most important aspects of his life.
But it's not just Gino. Anyone who talks to any member of the Capone and Reh families can tell that family values are something that is instilled in all of them.
"We are a close knit family," Gino's older sister Angela Capone said. "When we are home for the holidays, it's family style. We've always done things as a family."
But when Gino was one month shy of his third birthday, that family closeness and togetherness was tested in the worst way possible.
Gino's father, Gino, was electrocuted and killed while at work, leaving behind two children and a wife, JoAnn. He was only 31 at the time of his death.
"It affected the whole family," Gino Capone said about his son's death. "We were very, very close. Even when I talk about him . . . him and I were very close. The effects were very, very bad."
The father still visits his son's grave and says two rosaries every day to deal with the death of the child he lost at such a young age. Although his body may be gone, Gino knows that his son's "spirit is still there."
And of course, then there's his grandson, who is a constant reminder of the son he lost. In fact, according to Grandpap Capone, the way his grandson stands with his hands on his hips is the exact same way his son used to stand.
Although Gino may not remember his father from his own memory, his father has been an important role in his life.
His room is adorned with memorabilia of his father including pictures from when his father was a great athlete himself.
"I keep them there to remember where I came from," Gino said about the pictures. "I was two when he died. It's hard to remember when you're only two. What I've heard is that he was a really great guy. I always keep him in my prayers and I visit his grave site."
Although Gino's biological father may be gone, he has not been at a lack of positive male figures in his life. Both his grandpap and his stepfather, Charles Reh, have been there for Gino.
JoAnn is thankful for the bond that her son shares with his stepfather Charles, who Gino calls Dad.
"For not being his father, he's very close to him," JoAnn said about Charles' relationship with Gino.
According to JoAnn, Charles was the one responsible for making sure Gino made it to his various athletic games throughout his career, as a child and in high school. And he was happy about Gino's choice to come to Penn State. Charles himself is a Penn State alumnus.
"I always told him, where would you go if you weren't going to be a football player, because you're only ever one play away from being a spectator," Charles said. "It's a dream come true to have a son play for Penn State. I was always a Penn State fan, but I told him you go where you want to go."
And seeing Gino run onto the football field for the first time is something Charles will never forget.
"I had tears in my eyes," Charles said. "Every time he runs out it's a thrill."
Gino's closeness with his family doesn't end there. Reh has a daughter, Allison, who Gino is close to as well, in addition to his biological sister Angela.
"There was never any kind of feeling like we weren't part of the same family," Allison said. "We had a blast growing up and I was excited when he was going to be at Penn State."
Allison and Gino lived near each other in Nittany Apartments when she was still at University Park last year, and she said she loved every minute of it.
"We have more of a friendship than a brother-sister relationship," she said.
As for biological siblings, Gino is as close to his sister Angela as any brother and sister can be. After their father's death, Gino was three and Angela was six when their father passed away, the two of them grew even closer with their mother. Angela remembers the three of them sleeping in the same bed for the next four years after her father's death, and until her mom remarried.
"Gino is a terrific brother," Angela said. "He and I are really close. Since we were kids, we always played together. And if he ever needs to talk to anybody, I'm the first person he calls, which makes me feel wonderful. You see this big football player, but he's just a loving, caring guy inside."
Angela couldn't be at the Kickoff Classic last season, when Gino sacked the USC quarterback. She was moving that day, but she made sure she watched the game. With the only thing left in her house to move being the television, she decided to sit down and turn on the game.
"We just screamed," Angela said of her reaction after Gino made the sack. "He never ceases to amaze me. He's like a big teddy bear, and then you get him on the field and he's a grizzly bear. The football Gino is different from the Gino that is my brother."
Angela has even turned many of her friends in Virginia into Penn State fans, which can be a hard thing to do with college teams like Virginia Tech being a Penn State rival.
"He has so many fans down here in Virginia," Angela said. "And some of them were never Penn State fans, and now they watch because they know my brother plays."
Grandpap Capone was watching that same USC game, and saw the same play as Angela. The calls from all the neighbors started rolling in.
"We got phone calls from everywhere," Capone said. "We would hang up and another would call. When Gino makes these tackles, we still get phone calls ... 'Did you see that one?' "
After the death of his son, Grandpap Capone took on a somewhat new role in Gino's life -- that of grandfather and father. During Gino's senior year of high school, Grandpap Capone tried to make it to every one of Gino's football and basketball games. And who wouldn't want to be there to watch their grandson join the 1,000 point club in basketball or be named a Big 33 selection, SuperPrep All-American, USA Today honorable-mention All-American, or the first player in Schuylkill County to be named Reading Eagle All Anthracite at three positions -- linebacker, running back and tight end, and the Reading Eagle Male Athlete of the Year?
That dedication for his grandson's athletic career has continued into college. Grandpap Capone has been coming to every single football game since Gino's red-shirt season at Penn State in 1999. He gets the tickets from friends, so that he can come and watch his grandson don the Blue and White.
And Gino is thankful for him being there.
"It's great," Gino said. "I guess a lot of people don't have as many supporters as I do. I know there's always going to be loved ones out there and it makes it more fun to play."
Even if Gino didn't see his grandfather before the game, he would still know he was there. According to his family members and himself, he is known for his famous whistle. Gino's heard it many times before, and knows when he hears it that his grandfather isn't far away.
"He has a really loud whistle," Gino said. "He can be sitting in the first couple rows and if he gave that whistle I'd be able to hear him even at Beaver Stadium. He'll just let me know he's there, and I'll give him my wave."
In fact, one time he heard it after his grandfather snuck onto the field during a football game just to touch the field. According to Grandpap Capone, Gino was leaning down to stretch a little ways down the field from where he was standing, so he whistled to let him know he was there. And like every other time, Gino heard him and waved.
One of the reasons that Grandpap Capone is so happy that Gino attended Penn State is because it allows the Pennsylvania resident to get to the games. And of course there's the tunnel that he just can't seem to get enough of.
"I love that baby," Capone said. "The tunnel is super."
And as for away games, Gino isn't lacking in fans at those either. His parents try to make it to every single one, the first one they missed being the Illinois game last week.
Gino's relationship with his mother is another in his life that shows just how connected the Capones and Rehs are. Gino admires the woman who went back to school after his father's death to get a degree in education from Bloomsburg.
"He's always looked upon me because I've always been his caretaker," JoAnn said. "There was always that bond between Angela, Gino and I ... We were always a tight family. I guess it's just a bond you know it's there."
Although Gino's father isn't here in the physical sense today, his bond to the family is something they just know is there as well. And for a family that is so connected, that isn't anything that wouldn't be expected.
"Our little Gino... I enjoy being with him because I know that somewhere along the line his father is following him," Grandpap Capone said.
So when Gino runs out of the tunnel at Beaver Stadium, it isn't just his grandpap that is proud to be watching. It's his father too -- right there along side the rest of his family, proving that the family connectedness the Capones and Rehs have is something that can't even be broken by death.
