EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Seeing a former Syracuse teammate coming his way, Justin Pugh delayed the beginning of an interview and greeted him.

“What’s up with these jerseys, man? You guys start swaggin’ out once we left,” Pugh said after hugging senior wide receiver Jarrod West who, like his teammates, wore the SU’s new gray uniforms with shiny orange helmets. 

A sweaty West replied, “It’s because of y’all!” and then jogged back out to the field for pregame warm-ups.

Pugh is used to seeing Orange at MetLife Stadium. Former SU defensive end Jameel McClain plays defensive line for the Giants. And Pugh’s quarterback with Syracuse, Ryan Nassib, debuted for New York Thursday when starting quarterback Eli Manning helped the team to a big lead. 

Pugh and Nassib addressed the media about an hour before Syracuse’s (2-1) 8 p.m. kickoff with No. 8 Notre Dame (3-0) on the same field they play out the early stages of their NFL careers, again, as teammates.

“When you see Ryan on the sidelines, it’s always — you don’t have to say anything, you just know,” Pugh said. “He gives me a little tap. I’m like ‘OK baby, let’s get this thing rolling.’”

In orange pants and a navy blue Lacoste t-shirt, Pugh stood behind the same end zone he usually spends half of each Sunday shunting opponents toward.

The shirt was nothing new, but the pants arrived Friday.

“I had to get a little orange flavor in there, a little something different,” he said. 

He said he’ll be watching from the sideline, screaming, cheering on his former team. 

Then added: “When we win it’ll be even better.”

The schedule lined up well for the SU products on the Giants, who played at Washington on Thursday night and had Saturday off to spend at MetLife Stadium. 

Besides a bowl game, Saturday was possibly the only time Nassib and Pugh could watch the Orange play in person.

“Couldn’t ask for a better situation,” Nassib said.

Nassib said he stopped by the Orange’s hotel Friday night and spoke to the team, telling the players to have fun and enjoy the moment — nothing too different from what he told his teammates when he was Syracuse’s starting quarterback.

He also added that he talks weekly with SU quarterback Terrel Hunt through text.

But when they greeted each other Saturday, the discussion wasn’t really about football.

“He’s from New York, so I had a few questions about the area for him,” Nassib said.

He talks a little more frequently with cousin Joe Nassib, but more about family than football. Joe Nassib’s a fifth-year cornerback who has recently recovered from a recent shoulder injury and could see playing time for SU’s nicked-up secondary.

As Nassib spoke to reporters, he took a peek over his right shoulder as a few Orange players poured out of the tunnel and onto the field.

Nassib gave a nod of approval and said, “Uniforms look nice tonight.”

Published on September 27, 2014 at 9:00 pm