Toosii committed to Syracuse college football after a non-descript high school career

Billy Heyen

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Toosii committed to Syracuse college football after a non-descript high school career image

Headlines were generated a few days ago when the 25-year old rapper Toosii committed to play college football for the Syracuse Orange.

But in the days since, the story has somehow gotten even weirder. Namely: Toosii basically had no high school football career.

Syracuse.com's gritty reporter Chris Carlson got in touch with the high school coach of the man once known as Nau'Jour Grainger. And, well, there wasn't much to remember.

"He didn’t play his senior year (of high school)," Carlson writes. "His old coach didn’t remember if he got on the field when he was on the team as a junior."

Well, that's a good start.

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Toosii didn't actually sign with Syracuse on early signing day, which suggests he'll be a walk-on.

"There is reason to question whether the commitment is more stunt than substance," Carlson writes. "But if Grainger comes to Syracuse to play football for head coach Fran Brown, he will be a compelling side story even if he never plays a meaningful snap."

This is what Carlson quoted from head coach Wilson Helms, who was Grainger's coach for two seasons in high school:

“I’m not trying to say anything bad about anyone. But it wouldn’t have been something that crossed my mind. I think he was 5-foot-6, 140 pounds, so... I don’t know, maybe he had a growth spurt.”

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Toosii said recently on social media that he's now 5-foot-8.

Sacramento State, an FCS program, also offered Toosii.

Grainger played wide receiver in high school.

"(Helms) said Grainger didn’t play for the varsity team as a high school senior," Carlson writes. "He believes that was because he was more focused on making music. He said Grainger was part of the team as a junior until the two had a conversation in which Grainger expressed a desire to spend more time on his music."

Carlson added: "He said Grainger was a solid route-runner with some quickness and, if he’d focused on football, he could have been a contributor for a high school program that went 4-7."

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Helms added this quote:

“I don’t remember exactly when he made his decision. There was no blowup or anything like that. He came to me very respectfully and expressed that he wanted to focus on his music. It seems like that was a really good choice for him.”

There are ways that Syracuse wins this even if Toosii doesn't play at all.

"ESPN recruiting expert Craig Haubert said that seems viable," Carlson writes. "He said he felt the addition was a win-win for Syracuse and Grainger, saying a recruit like him failing to work out would do little damage and the potential payoff is significant if he beat the odds."

Toosii has more than four million followers on Instagram. The Syracuse official football account has 139,000.

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Contributing Writer