Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.

Duce Chestnut’s dream school was always LSU. Despite growing up in Camden, New Jersey, he was infatuated with the Tigers’ program.

His parents, Leslie Brown and Charles Chestnut, bought him LSU gear, which he often wore while watching its games on the living room couch. Maurice Taylor, Chestnut’s defensive coordinator at Camden High School, thinks he partly chose to attend the school because its purple and gold uniforms mirror the Tigers’ brand.

Despite being an offensive player for most of his youth career, Chestnut moved to the secondary before high school. It allowed him to emulate his favorite Tigers player ever, Tyrann Mathieu. Chestnut’s goal was to play in LSU’s secondary, known by many as Defensive Back University.

So when an opportunity opened to transfer to his dream school after two star-studded seasons with Syracuse to open his college career, it was a no-brainer for Chestnut. But childhood dreams don’t always work out as planned.

An injury-riddled junior season abruptly ended his time with the Tigers, forcing him to redshirt in 2023. Following his time at LSU — and Syracuse’s hiring of Fran Brown — Chestnut re-entered the transfer portal and returned to the Orange. Back at SU, Chestnut has recorded 14 total tackles through its first three games.

Though with changes on the field, including a switch from cornerback to free safety, Chestnut’s time with the Tigers put things into perspective. The once-standout underclassman went through newfound adversity. And he’s better off because of it.

“I’m back,” Chestnut said. “But not the freshman Duce that y’all had before … A better Duce.”

A few weeks prior to SU’s 2022 Pinstripe Bowl matchup with Minnesota, Chestnut entered the transfer portal following former Syracuse defensive coordinator Tony White’s departure. Given the chance to live out a lifelong aspiration, Chestnut ran with the opportunity. On Jan. 8, 2023, Chestnut announced his commitment to LSU.

Instantly, he made an impact with the Tigers. In a top-10 matchup against Florida State to open the season, Chestnut intercepted a pass from Jordan Travis intended for current Buffalo Bills receiver Keon Coleman. He also recorded four tackles and a tackle for loss.

Ilana Zahavy | Design Editor

Playing for a top SEC program, excellence was demanded daily. In practice, Chestnut faced off with future first-round wide receivers Malik Nabers (New York Giants) and Brian Thomas Jr. (Jacksonville Jaguars), while Heisman Trophy winner and No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels (Washington Commanders) threw to them. Dozens of National Football League scouts were frequently in attendance.

“You got to come out every single day and put your best work out there, or you’re gonna get embarrassed,” Chestnut said. “It was kind of like a game every day for us.”

While Chestnut notched an interception in his Tigers’ debut, something wasn’t right. Chestnut tore his labrum during his sophomore season at SU and played through it unknowingly. After the season, he got it checked out further and underwent surgery once he got to LSU.

Trying to crack the Tigers’ depth chart, Chestnut admittedly rushed back after missing spring and summer camp to participate in training camp. Chestnut said his arm “likely wasn’t strong enough” at the time.

He played through the injury initially at LSU but quickly re-aggravated it. Following the first four games, Tigers head coach Brian Kelly said Chestnut was “not currently with the team.” Two weeks later, Kelly said he was inactive but still on scholarship. Redshirting was an option but wasn’t something Kelly and the Tigers wanted, according to Chestnut’s high school head coach Dwayne Savage.

“You want to live up to your own expectations and everybody else’s, and he couldn’t,” Leslie Brown said. “And I could tell that really hurt him.”

For the first time, Chestnut was far from home. Instead of a drive away, his family was a flight away. The cuisine was altered. The weather was warmer. He needed to introduce himself to a new program and fanbase — all while having an injured shoulder and being buried within a talent-filled roster.

“He’s used to being the guy,” Charles said of Chestnut. “At LSU, you’re just one of the guys.”

Throughout his entire football career, Chestnut was a star. SU teammate and childhood friend Alijah Clark said Chestnut was the best Little League player and middle school player he’d ever seen. In high school, Chestnut was a two-time USA Today Network All-New Jersey selection, blossoming into a four-star recruit.

He quickly made a name for himself at Syracuse, leading the Orange with three interceptions as a true freshman. Chestnut was named a Freshman All-American by ESPN and finished as the runner-up for Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Rookie of the Year. His success continued into his sophomore year.

“He’s a superstar. I know that when you get down to yourself, it’s hard to get back to being who you actually are,” Clark said. “So I just wanted him to keep that confidence and let him know you always gonna be good. ‘You Duce. So keep being Duce.’”

Duce Chestnut (right) celebrates a play with Alijah Clark (left) in SU’s win over Ohio. Chestnut and Clark have been lifelong friends and are reuniting in Syracuse’s secondary. Jacob Halsema | Staff Photographer

Chestnut’s season in Baton Rouge helped him mature. He didn’t have the year he wanted on the gridiron, but still lived his dream. The mere idea of getting the experience itself was a success. And the challenges Chestnut faced only made him mentally stronger.

“He definitely grew up. Because Duce has always been a kid, and that was the first time I’ve seen he really had to be a man,” Charles said.

Chestnut entered the transfer portal on Dec. 26, 2023. As the new year struck, he announced he was returning to Syracuse on social media at exactly 12 a.m., a “New Year’s gift to the fans,” as he put it.

While Chestnut had offers from multiple other schools, Fran Brown — also an alumnus of Camden High School — taking over Syracuse’s program helped influence Chestnut’s return.

SU’s first-year head coach has known Chestnut since the defensive back was in Little League, and his father for even longer. Fran Brown’s son, Fran Brown Jr., who’s a few years younger, trained with Chestnut and became close friends with him, according to Charles. With their relationship, Fran Brown was often in Chestnut’s ear, giving him advice to improve.

Fran Brown fluctuated between Baylor, Temple and Rutgers when Chestnut was in high school. He offered the defensive back scholarships from each of the institutions.

“With (Chestnut) and coach Brown having that relationship, coach Brown can push him. He knows that if coach Brown is telling him something he can really trust what coach Brown’s saying,” Savage said.

Ilana Zahavy | Design Editor

Under Fran Brown, formerly Georgia’s defensive backs coach, Chestnut was quickly moved from cornerback to safety. The switch allows the Orange to use more playmakers in their 4-2-5 defense.

Chestnut was taught to be virtually interchangeable in the secondary under Savage and Taylor at Camden High. Along with Clark and Braheem Long Jr., the three constantly shifted into different positions.

Savage said that if an opponent had a potent running attack, Chestnut would often come down in the box for more tackling. If a team was more pass-heavy, then he was put on the outside.

Charles always thought his son would end up at safety. His experience in Little League as a running back allowed Chestnut to see the field from a wide angle. The move to safety, even on the other side of the ball, did the same.

Additionally, Chestnut can further model his game after Mathieu. Both undersized, one of Mathieu’s best traits is flexibility within the secondary, which Chestnut wants to replicate.

While coverage is a defensive back’s priority, Chestnut has the innate ability to blow up plays in the backfield. In his first game back with the Orange, Chestnut sniffed out a run-pass option from Ohio, wrapping up quarterback Parker Navarro for a tackle for loss in the first quarter.

The play prompted SU fans to instantly start an extended “DUCE” chant throughout the JMA Wireless Dome, a staple of Chestnut’s first two seasons. Though Chestnut was “too locked in” to hear it at the moment, the chants were something Clark said they spoke about leading up to the game. It was a signal of his return to the place where he established himself in college. But also a signal of support that was absent last year.

“Hearing that back, I know that just brought everything back to him,” Clark said. “All the confidence, all the love that he was missing at LSU.”

For Chestnut, he knows he’s back where he belongs.

“To be able to come back to a crowd that I once had a great connection with, that’s like a homecoming for me,” he said.

Published on September 25, 2024 at 11:39 pm

Contact Aiden at: amstepan@syr.edu | @AidenStepansky