A multi-platinum rapper who averages 3.8million monthly listeners on Spotify and boasts over 4.8million followers on Instagram is putting down the mic and putting on shoulder pads.
Nau’Jour Grainger, who goes by the stage name Toosii, announced his commitment to play football at Syracuse University this fall.
Grainger, who is 25-years-old, previously announced he would be taking a break from his music career to try and play Division-I football.
Grainger was born in Syracuse – a city of just below 150,000 in upstate New York – but moved to North Carolina at the age of 12. There, he played high school football before starting his music career.
In recent months, he had been working out at the facilities of North Carolina State University to try and get in playing shape.
‘I’m chasing history,’ Grainger said in a post to X on August 18. ‘First multi-platinum recording artist to go back to school and play DIVISION I football.
Multi-platinum rapper Toosii, age 25, has committed to playing football at Syracuse next fall
The rapper, born Nau’Jour Grainger, has paused his music career to play college football
‘Next year I’m gonna be on somebody’s team mark my words!’
Last Monday, Grainger posted to his X account again, saying, ‘I’ll never forget where I came [from]’, adding ‘315’ (the area code for Syracuse) and an orange emoji, referencing the school’s mascot.
When his commitment was announced on Monday afternoon, Grainger celebrated: ‘For every kid who ever had a dream, make it reality.
‘God’s will is the way and no one can stop it not even the devil. I wanna thank my lord and savior Jesus Christ for even giving me the strength to chase what I believed when so many people told me I couldn’t.
‘Thank you to the people who supported me as well, it never go unnoticed. To be born in Syracuse and move to North Carolina at age 12 and haven’t been back since.
‘When Coach Fran called, I knew it was a sign from God. So with that being said, Cuse I’m coming home.’
Grainger is not ranked in either Rivals or 247Sports’ database for the Class of 2026. On Rivals, he is listed as a wide receiver. He took visits to Duke, Maryland and Sacramento State – with the latter school offering him a scholarship.
Syracuse University told Daily Mail Sport that NCAA rules prevent them from answering questions about recruits.
Grainger was born in Central New York, but moved down to North Carolina at age 12
Grainger first tasted mainstream fame with his hit ‘Favorite Song’ – which went viral on TikTok and has surpassed 262million streams on Spotify at the time of publishing.
His 2020 single ‘Love Cycle’ has also achieved platinum status.
This past season was a disaster for Syracuse. After starting the season 3-1 with a win over Clemson, the Orange did not win another game down the rest of the stretch after losing first-string quarterback Steve Angeli for the season due to injury.
The Orange finished dead last in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 3-9 record after going 10-3 the season prior.
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