This wasn’t exactly a typical football recruiting announcement.
Nau’jour “Toosii” Grainger, a 25-year-old rapper with 3.9 million monthly listeners on Spotify, committed to Syracuse for the 2026 season, he wrote in an X post Monday.
Grainger played wide receiver and returned kicks for Rolesville (N.C.) High School as a Class of 2018 graduate, according to 247Sports, and after announcing his desire to return to football in August, he reportedly received a scholarship offer from Sacramento State and took recruiting visits to Duke and North Carolina State.
His single “Favorite Song” went viral on TikTok in 2023 — reaching No. 5 on the Hot 100, according to Variety — and achieved double-platinum status.
COMMITTED 🙏🏽 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… pic.twitter.com/WUNyvFV4KV
— Toosii (@toosii2x) December 1, 2025
But for at least next season, he’ll pause his recording career for college football.
“For every kid who ever had a dream, make it reality,” Grainger wrote announcing the decision. “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 [Brown] called, I knew it was a sign from God. So with that being said, Cuse I’m coming home.”
Back in August, Grainger teased his decision as “chasing history.”
He said that he’d be the first multi-platinum artist to go back and play football for a Division I school.
He predicted that he’d be on a team for 2026, too — “mark my words,” Grainger wrote at the time, posting an accompanying video that showed him running routes and catching passes at the NC State facility.
And for Syracuse, Grainger’s commitment provided a bit of intriguing buzz for a program that collapsed to end the 2025 campaign.
The Orange started 3-1 and picked up a signature road win against Clemson in September, but after starting quarterback Steve Angeli tore his Achilles during their win over the Tigers, Syracuse lost its final eight games to close the year.
When they lost 70-7 to Notre Dame on Nov. 22, the Orange trailed 21-0 early in the first quarter before the Fighting Irish even logged their first offensive snap, with walk-on quarterback Joseph Filardi tossing two pick-sixes and Notre Dame returning a blocked punt for a touchdown.
