The college football recruiting world gets more interesting by the day, and Monday is no different. 25-year old rapper Nau’jour Grainger, who goes by the stage name Toosii, has committed to play football at Syracuse, he announced on his Instagram.
Grainger made his plans known this summer that he was taking a break from his multi-platinum music career and has been training frequently in Raleigh at NC State.
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“I’m chasing history. First multi-platinum recording artist to go back to school and play DIVISION I football. Next year I’m gonna be on somebody’s team mark my words!,” he wrote in an Aug. 18 post on X that showed him catching passes at the NC State practice facility.
In announcing his commitment, Grainger wrote on Twitter: “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 played high school football at Rolesville High in Raleigh — his 2015 season highlights can be found here.
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He originally hails from Syracuse, N.Y., but moved to North Carolina as a young teenager where he began his rap career. He currently has 3.6 million monthly listeners on Spotify and even released a new single ‘Even Then’ last month. He’s most known for songs like ‘Favorite Song’, ‘Love Hurts’ and ‘Pull Up’.
Toosii among other late-bloomers trying to make it in college football
Grainger is not currently ranked as a recruit, but should his full eligibility left after not playing college football previously. He is one of a few prospects taking interesting paths to the game.
Former overseas professional basketball player Nathaniel Salmon, who played in Australia and then attended mini-camp with the Los Angeles Chargers before gaining NCAA eligibility, is also looking to join a program after this season.
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The 6-foot-7, 270-pounder has already taken official visits to BYU, Arizona State and Utah this season.
“All three of these schools checked all the boxes for me,” Salmon told Rivals’ Adam Gorney. “They all have big Polynesian communities which I’d want because I’d feel like I fit in more and all three have big LDS communities. I fit in the best at these three schools. These are the final three because I’ve built the best relationships with these three. My recruitment is still open but these are the top three. I’m trying to enroll ASAP.”
Prior to his tryout with the Chargers, he had never played football. But he was scouted by the NFL International Player Pathway while playing basketball and was invited to the 10-week football program at Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy in January 2025.
“It’s a funny journey I’ve been on but I guess everybody has their own journey and this is mine,” Salmon said.
