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Rutgers football could well face a motivated Duce Chestnut on Saturday, the Syracuse football cornerback coming off a big performance this past weekend and looking to prove yet another point.
A true freshman, Chestnut had a big first game for Syracuse in a 29-9 win at Ohio on Saturday night. The Camden, NJ native had eight tackles, a pass defended and an interception in his collegiate debut. The outstanding effort saw him named the ACC Co-Rookie of the Week.
The performance left Syracuse head coach Dino Babers amazed.
“Sunday in the team meeting, Duce Chestnut got the game ball on beat, and 35 years, I’ve never seen anybody -I’ve never even heard of anybody getting a game ball in the first collegiate game,” Babers said in media availability this week.
“I’m sure there’s some guys out there but they were never on my teams. So, it really really is an amazing deal. It’s something that you don’t anticipate, you could have never thought of and doggone glad it happened. We’re really happy to see it.”
Chestnut was the only player from New Jersey in Syracuse’s 2021 class. He also was the only four-star recruit for the Orange in last year’s class.
#OrangeNation, meet Duce Chestnut 🤝 pic.twitter.com/fH1f7qiXop
— Syracuse Football (@CuseFootball) September 5, 2021
There could well be a bit of fire from Chestnut when Rutgers plays at Syracuse on Saturday afternoon. Chestnut was originally offered by previous Rutgers head coach Chris Ash but was reportedly never re-offered when Greg Schiano returned last season as the Scarlet Knights head coach.
Chestnut held 20 offers including Baylor, Boston College, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina and Pittsburgh among others.