Malvern Prep product Nassib sure loves the Orange

AS LONG AGO as the last century, it turns out, there was a hint Ryan Nassib had a fascination with Orange.

Now, the 6-2, 230-pound redshirt junior from Malvern Prep is eagerly preparing for his second season as Syracuse University's starting quarterback. But in 1998, even before he began playing football, his name could be found in a newspaper and he was asking quite the question.

How do they make Cheetos?

Nassib was then a student at a grade school, Ss. Simon & Jude, in the town where he still resides, West Chester, and, as part of a class project, he fired off questions to the Inquirer for a column called "Kids' Talk."

In all, his inquiries thrice saw the light of ink. The others: Can you cry if you are blind? What's the difference between a bluebird and a blue jay?

"Hey, that bluebird/blue jay question, that's a good one," Nassib cooed by telephone Friday, after emerging from a team meeting. "I can't even answer that one now.

"That Cheetos one, that's crazy. I still have that newspaper clipping, actually. I can't remember why I picked them to ask about. Must have been eating them that day. Must have been in my lunchbox."

Or maybe, even back then, it was all about Orange.

Nassib committed to 'Cuse in May of his junior year at Malvern and then had a bangup senior season in '07, earning first team Daily News All-City honors while adding an Inter-Ac League Player of the Year nod.

He has since experienced quite the ride in a program that's on its third offensive approach since his arrival.

Yes, playbooks are now much more crucial than lunchboxes.

"When I first got here, we had an offense based on a power running game; passing was minimal," Nassib said. "Then when coach [Doug] Marrone got here [for the 2009 season], we went to a spread. Then we went to more of a West Coast offense, which is more of an NFL-type system.

"I've been bouncing around. But you pick up things from each system and, at the end of the day, a lot of stuff carries over. It's a challenge to learn all the terminology, but this will be my second year with the West Coast offense and I feel as though I have a good grasp of it."

Nassib last season hit on 56.4 percent of his passes while amassing 2,334 yards and 19 touchdowns (with only eight interceptions). His 202 completions were a school record and he finished on a high note, throwing for 239 yards and three TDs in a 36-34 win over Kansas State in the Pinstripe Bowl.