There are few surprises left in the college football recruiting world these days, but 26 year-old-rapper Nau’jour Grainger, who goes by the stage name ‘Toosii,’ playing football for Lane Kiffin at LSU might take the cake.
In December, Grainger announced his commitment to Syracuse despite not having any collegiate football experience and went viral in doing so. Nearly two months later, he has enrolled at LSU and is listed on the team’s 2026 roster ahead of spring practices.
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His roster page designates him as a freshman. Last week, he posted a video of him working out in the program’s indoor practice facility with the caption, “this what they don’t see.”
Grainger announced last summer that he was taking a break from his multi-platinum music career and has been training frequently in Raleigh at NC State.
“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.
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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’.
Grainger played high school football at Rolesville High in Raleigh — his 2015 season highlights can be found here.
Grainger is latest addition to Tigers’ roster
Adding Grainger to the roster is another newsworthy moment this offseason for Lane Kiffin and Co., who have overturned the Tigers’ roster since taking over in December. LSU brought in 40 new players via the NCAA Transfer Portal, including three of the top 10 available in quarterback Sam Leavitt, edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen, and offensive tackle Jordan Seaton.
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The Tigers also signed former Rivals five-star prospects in Husan Longstreet, Carius Curne and Jordan Ross, immediately upgrading the offensive line, defensive line and quarterback rooms.
On the recruiting trail, Kiffin and Co. managed to close the 2026 class out with a bang by signing a trio of five-stars: defensive lineman Lamar Brown, wide receiver Corey Barber, and defensive lineman Richard Anderson. In total, more than 60 new faces will be in the locker room this spring as Kiffin looks to quickly jumpstart LSU’s program back into a national contender.
