Will Nau’Jour Grainger (Toosii) succeed as a CFB WR for Syracuse?

On December 1st, Nau'Jour Lazier Grainger, also known as Toosii, a multi-platinum rapper and singer, committed to playing college football for the Syracuse Orange. Toosii announced about three months ago that he would be putting his music career on hold to focus on football.

He would be the first person in college football to be a successful rapper and play at the same time. He is expected to play in the 2026-2027 football season, with rumors suggesting he will take on the wide receiver position.

He previously played wide receiver at Rolesville High School ten years ago. After taking a break, he gained fame with hits like “Favorite Song,” “Love Hurts” by Lil Tjay and Toosii, and “Sapiosexual.”

In August 2025, he announced his desire to focus on playing football and reaching the pros — a feat never accomplished by a multi-platinum artist before. While many professional players make music, we rarely see a rapper aiming to go pro.

Over the past three months, Toosii has shared his progress and training, catching Sacramento State's attention, which treated him like a five-star recruit. Other programs, like USC and Maryland, also expressed interest.

However, Syracuse's head coach, Fran Brown Jr., a native of Syracuse, New York, offered him a spot. Toosii accepted, and his signing shook the college football world.

In the 2025 season, Syracuse seemed poised for a playoff run. Their starting quarterback, Steve Angeli, went 3-1 before suffering a season-ending injury. The team had victories over Clemson and UConn.

At the start of the year, six players, including receivers like Trebor Peña (now with Penn State), entered the transfer portal. The 2026 team will look very different, especially if Angeli stays healthy. Grainger’s high school stats are unknown because Rolesville High School has not published any official records.

Syracuse has a strong wide receiver core, and adding Grainger as a slot receiver could be dangerous. Based on his high school film and his recent training, he looks like a promising receiver. Of course, he hasn't played on a pro field in a while, and he would need time to adjust to college football.

But when he does, he could become a threat to the ACC. His skills will be tested in games against Pitt, Clemson, UVA and Louisville. If he performs well in those games, he could be a starter by the end of 2026 and into 2027.

We have seen creators like Donald De La Haye (Deestroying), a social media star, sign with the San Antonio Brahmas as a kicker in January 2024. But a rapper playing pro football is something the world has never seen.

Toosii would make history. So, at the end of the day, he could fit well with this 2026 Syracuse team, or he could struggle. Right now, it's hard to say how he'll perform because he hasn't played in a while, but his practice over the last three months has looked promising.

Toosii will need to prove he belongs as a pro player, and anyone can do whatever they want as long as they put in the work.

Rehan Karnani is a third-year student majoring in telecommunications and media industries and minoring in Entrepreneurship. To contact him, email rrk5317@psu.edu.