Syracuse, NY – Syracuse football coach Fran Brown said he is unsure if Syracuse-born rapper Toosii will play football for the Orange next season.
Brown threw some cold water on the possibility Wednesday during an interview on ESPN Radio Syracuse is Orange Nation’s radio program.
Toosii, whose real name is Nau’Jour Grainger, announced his commitment to play for the Orange in December.
The announcement sparked a wave of curiosity and questions about a possible publicity stunt given Grainger’s status as a double-platinum musician and the fact that he never played higher than JV football in high school.
Brown admitted Wednesday that if Grainger comes to Syracuse, he is not expected to be an impact player for the Orange.
“He’s not coming here to play ball,” Brown said. “I wanted to let him move on. I’m not sure if I should talk about it or not… He’s still thinking about it because if you go somewhere, you have the right to do it. You can do it anywhere. I wanted to tell him that you definitely have the opportunity because I know he was born and raised here. I just wanted to be able to give him something that was his dream.”
Grainger’s commitment to Syracuse was covered by ESPN, CBS Sports and a number of national recruiting websites. His announcement received 744,000 likes on Instagram from his 4.6 million followers.
Granger did not sign with the Orange on Early National Signing Day, suggesting that if he were to play for SU, it would only be as an alternate. That was a natural assumption given his 5-foot-8 height and limited competitive football background.
Ahead of his verbal commitment, the 26-year-old rapper shared videos of himself practicing football on social media. He expressed his desire to play college football during an interview with college football podcaster Darien Rencher.
Grainger visited Syracuse’s football program before committing to the Orange. He also reportedly had an offer to play football at Sacramento State, a football program in desperate need of attention given its stated aspirations to jump to the FBS level. The NCAA denied Sacramento State’s waiver to play at the FBS level last year.
Grainger moved from Syracuse to North Carolina when he was 12 years old. He said his passions throughout his youth were sports and music.
Having already found success as a musician, Grainger said playing college football will allow him to achieve another of his dreams.
He said in previous interviews that any college that allowed him to achieve his dream could expect a generous alum.
Changes to the structure of college football in recent years have limited the number of players a college football team can have on a roster, creating more uncertainty as to whether there would be room for Grainger and whether it would make sense to have him on the roster.
“I’m not sure if that’s going to happen because we’re getting more and more players on the football team,” Brown said. “I have to evaluate it now. … More and more players are coming in who can play the ball. … I think he’s a great young man, to be honest. I thought, why not do it? Why not give him a chance to come back and try to play football in the city where he was born and raised.”
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