SU unveils three new uniforms for 2014-2015 season

Every day, SU head coach Scott Shafer said he’d walk down the hallway next to his office and see how the program, the players and the uniforms have changed over the years. And Wednesday at Destiny USA, Shafer and the team unveiled a new look the Orange will wear during the 2014-2015 season.

Charley Loeb, Jerome Smith and Marquis Spruill strolled out from behind a black curtain to display the newest addition to the SU uniform collection. Loeb wore an all-blue home jersey, Smith wore an all-white away jersey and Spruill wore an all-gray “wildcard” jersey. An all-orange jersey will also be used next season, but was not displayed Wednesday.

Photo: Tyler Greenawalt

Terrel Hunt models the all-white away jersey.

“This is awesome,” Smith said. “This is the next step that we needed. I’m excited for these guys.”

Last year, Nike came to Syracuse and spoke to Shafer and a few student athletes about what they were looking for, and these uniforms were the final product.

“We thought it was about community,” Shafer said. “It was about tradition; taking the past and looking forward and representing the future.”

Multiple aspects of the uniform have specific meanings. Firstly, the stripes inside in the numbers are all at 44-degree angle, signify the legendary number worn by Jim Brown, Ernie Davis and Floyd Little. The “44” insignia at base of the collar is miliary-inspired, something Shafer said was important for the team.

“We want to give respect to those that serve our country,” Shafer said. “There are so many people that put their lives on the line so we can go play football.”

Finally, each jersey has an SU theme woven into the inside back collar. The home has “lock the gate” inscribed, and the away and “wildcard” uniforms have “D.I.S.C.I.P.L.I.N.E” inscribed.

After all the fanfare at Destiny USA, the current playerss got a taste of the uniforms back at the Iocolano Petty Football on South Campus. Terrel Hunt, Cameron Lynch and Dyshawn Davis strolled in to the lounge area in front of the rest of their team to cheers and whistles. Players ran over to the uniforms for a better look and to feel the fabric.

The new look, Terrel Hunt said, will really be a driving force in recruiting the future of SU football.

“Now we’ve got something that’s exciting, something that’s different,” he said. “This is just bringing that swag to the ACC.”

Somali Eatom, a graphic designer who works at Temple Adath Yeshurun in Syracuse, heard about the new uniforms Tuesday night, and couldn’t wait to see what they looked like in person.

“To see new designs is really exciting for me,” she said. “They all (Loeb, Smith and Spruill) rocked the uniforms. They looked really confident.”

What jumped out most to her, Eatom said, was the grey uniform and the stripes on the numbers of the white away uniform.

The team won’t wear the uniforms during Saturday’s Spring Game, Shafer said, but wait until the season opener against Villanova on Aug. 29.

“This is about the kids,” Head coach Scott Shafer said. “They put the uniforms on, there’re the ones that play. If they’re fired about that them, I’m fired up about them.”

The team also announced it will play LSU in a home-and-home series starting in Sept. 26, 2015 in the Carrier Dome and ending on Sept. 9, 2017 at LSU's Tiger Stadium, and that tickets for the Aug. 29 game versus Villanova will be buy-one-get-one-free.