When Duce Chestnut originally committed to Syracuse in 2020, he was the highest rated recruit in a decade. So when he transferred out in 2022 and decided to play for Louisiana State, it was that much more painful for the program and the fans.

In his first two seasons at Syracuse, Chestnut became a household name for Orange faithful. But when former defensive coordinator Tony White and safeties coach Nick Monroe left the program after the 2022 season, Chestnut wasn’t far behind.

“Coach White was my main recruiter along with Coach Monroe," Chestnut said. "So, with Coach White leaving, it was like a decision in my mind, like, 'do I want to stay here or do I want to go somewhere where I can possibly go to my dream school?' "

That dream school was LSU. Chestnut was stepping into a program that had national championship aspirations in 2023.

“You see the guys over there at LSU make a name for themselves like Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas and Jayden Daniels," Chestnut said. "So, like, just to get in the mindset, it's like competing every play. No plays off. “

But the Tigers fell short of a championship, with Chestnut fighting through a shoulder injury that saw him play in just two games for LSU. With the coaching change in 2023 in Syracuse that saw new head coach Fran Brown come in, Chestnut decided to rekindle a relationship with Brown that started long ago in Camden, New Jersey.

“This is as close as blood is going to get," Brown said. "We just understand he's a good kid that I care about a lot. I care about Duce more as a person than football, you know, because you only play football if he's lucky, you know, some more years. But I know he'll be able to become a good father and a good man. I want him to be a good husband one day.”

“With Coach Fran taking the job, I came back to be with my guys; a lot of guys from Camden are here and I want to put on for the city," Chestnut said. "So to come back to Syracuse and do that was big for me.”

His return was a welcome sight for many like Alijah Clark, who also knew Chestnut in Camden.

“That guy is a field general," said Clark, a defensive back. "He can play any position on the back end corner, slot corner, safety. To me, he could be a linebacker if it was up to me because he's just a guy who's that physical. He's a football player I literally watch Duce watch film all day. We are with each other all day. He doesn't take a time off and watch TV, anything. He watches film. So its a great thing to have Duce back.”

“It makes me want to go harder," Chestnut added about playing with friends from his hometown. "Like I don't want to see Alijah do anything bad or anything bad to happen to Alijah. So I'm gonna help him as much as possible, as much as anybody else on the team.”

He’s back in a familiar place with similar goals, even drawing identical comparisons between Syracuse and LSU.

‘We're going to be one of the big programs and we're going to put the work in and let y'all know that, so it ain't really much of a difference," Chestnut said of what he wants to accomplish at Syracuse. "The only difference is I'm back out here with guys that I grew up with. I was five years or six years old playing with kids outside on my own, on my street.”