Joe Judge was in college at Mississippi State on Sept. 11, 2001.

Nineteen years later, as the head coach of the Giants, Judge has gained a “different perspective,” he said Friday after spending part of the morning talking with his team and people in the organization about the anniversary of the terrorist attacks. He also believes there’s an important reminder to be taken away from it all.

“We talked to the team this morning about it’s not about what happened to the country on 9/11, it’s about how the country responded,” Judge said on a Zoom call while wearing an FDNY cap. “I think that’s the lesson everyone has to take with how resilient this country is. You look at a lot of the things going on across the country, how divided a lot of people seem. It’s amazing how much this country can truly work together and respond when needed. I think watching from afar, at the time I was down south, I was a thousand miles away, you watch the way the city of New York came together in this time of crisis. Now, I’m looking across the river at a city right there exactly where the tragedy happened.

“If you listen to the stories of today of the guys who were in the [Giants] building the day it happened and how they could see the smoke coming from the city, it puts a much different perspective on it.”

An East Orange native, safety Jabrill Peppers said he still remembered the day “very vividly,” being let out of school early and seeing the smoke across the Hudson River.

“Being from here, it definitely does hit a little bit harder,” said Peppers, who like tight end Evan Engram, passed along his condolences and prayers to the families of the victims.

Judge said it was important not to forget the sacrifices made by first responders and other heroes on that day to help save lives. He also thought the way the country came together in the aftermath of the attacks could help again today at a time when the country is divided amidst a pandemic and racial and social unrest.

“There were actions taken on that day that brought this country close together,” Judge said. “I think if we can focus more on how we can respond as a nation and work together, we will get past a lot of this crap that we are dealing with right now.”