University of Pittsburgh football coach Todd Graham, left, and Temple coach Steve Addazio participate in a news conference at the Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association meeting in State College, Friday.

STATE COLLEGE — Penn State coach Joe Paterno pulled a veteran move at what was supposed to be a news conference with his first-year counterparts from Pitt and Temple, posing for pictures briefly before walking out the door without answering a question.

Only college football’s elder statesman could pull this off, leaving a podium at his own team’s headquarters to the head coaches from two in-state rivals.

“It’s an honor for me to spend time with him today,” Panthers coach Todd Graham said Friday, with Owls coach Steve Addazio looking on at a gathering to promote Pennsylvania high school football.

“It’s a thrill to be here, to be around him,” Graham said, “around someone who’s made that kind of impact for a long period of time.”

When it comes to football though, it’s business as usual.

On Friday, Paterno, Graham and Addazio met with a group of high school coaches to talk about plans for a Pennsylvania high school football convention, an all-star game and high school football coaches hall of fame exhibits at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia and State College.

Graham and Addazio viewed Friday’s meeting as important in maintaining roots to the state’s often prolific pipeline of football talent.

“It’s a two-way street. We need them and they need us,” said Camp Hill High School coach Frank Gay. Sitting to the side while the high school coaches spoke, Addazio grinned when someone gave Penn State, Pitt and Temple the moniker of Pennsylvania’s “Big Three.”