New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Fits like a SHU: Chestnut realizing dreams at Sacred Heart
FAIRFIELD — Julius Chestnut walked away from Sacred Heart’s football practice Tuesday afternoon and pointed excitedly in different directions to recognize the transformation of campus since his 2018 arrival.
“That was just fields,” Chestnut said of four new dormitories in front of him.
“And the Bobby V,” he said, turning backward, “wasn’t even built yet.”
Chestnut looked toward the
Bobby Valentine Health & Recreation Center, a three-story, $21.8 million facility that includes a 40-foot climbing wall, basketball courts and a bowling alley.
That’s where Chestnut can be found every Thursday night, bowling with buddies, usually with a loser-buys-dinner wager in place.
Chestnut, the superb running back for a program that has become the class of the Northeast Conference, puts on shows at Campus Field. In just five games last season — a truncated version, held in the spring — he had 855 rushing yards and an average of 171 per game, both of which led the Football Championship Subdivision. Chestnut also was first in the nation in all-purpose yards per game (205.2) and his average of 6.9 yards per carry set a program record.
“I’m biased, but I think he’s the best running back in all of FCS,” Sacred Heart coach Mark Nofri said. “I think he’s the best football player in FCS.”
Chestnut’s college experience is about more than what can be accomplished on Saturdays, a major reason why he is still around wearing No. 7 and pursuing an economics degree. Chestnut would have drawn attention from highprofile FBS programs in the NCAA transfer portal, a sexy draw for many standout FCS players.
“Everybody thinks about it,” Chestnut said. “But I was like, why would I leave a place where people love me and care about me? If I left, would I get the same love that I get here? I don’t think so. The coaches care about me — and I care about them, as well. I’ve made a lot of good friends here, met a lot of good people, and there are a lot of connections I can make in the outside world from here. So I was like, no — no way I can do that.”
Chestnut, of Bowie, Md., chose Sacred Heart over Central Connecticut and Morgan State, where his older sister played basketball, because the initial vibe he felt from the SHU community reminded him of that from his tight-knit high school days at Archbishop Spalding. His Sacred Heart official visit was his first — and his last.
To hear Chestnut talk about the university threeplus years later is to envision him wearing a red SHU hoodie through whatever personal and professional footsteps await — maybe even a Pioneers T-shirt under the shoulder pads of the NFL team that eventually employs him if, in fact, that dream does come to pass.
“He just needs an opportunity,” Nofri said. “Then it’s up to him. And there’s no quit in him.”
No deviation, either. Chestnut, a senior, is the big football fish in the little pond, swimming happily along as the embodiment of what it is to find a situation of high reward without being tantalized by a grassis-greener approach that is pervading college sports.
Chestnut lives off campus with four of the closest friends he’s ever had — teammates Marquez McCray, Troy Holland, DeAndre Byrd and Shamere Collins. He’s an intern in the athletics communications office, helping with statistical analysis, marketing, ticket sales and more. He’s captivated by the behind-the-scenes work that makes the little SHU athletic engine run.
His girlfriend, Sarah Ciszek, is a Sacred Heart volleyball player. As a junior in 2020, Ciszek was the NEC player of the year and setter of the year. She joined Chestnut in May for an online Walter Payton Award ceremony, recognizing the top offensive player in FCS. Chestnut’s parents — mother Nichelle Chestnut, father Keith Chestnut — and his sister, Torri, were with him, too.
The champagne and sparkling grape juice weren’t popped that day. Chestnut finished third in the voting. Southeastern Louisiana quarterback Cole Kelley won the award, last given to a running back in 2003 (Jamaal Branch, Colgate). Still, Chestnut’s resume is as robust as it gets for most players in the
FCS.
He was the NEC offensive rookie of the year in 2018, when he had 713 rushing yards on 116 carries in a supporting role behind redshirt junior Jordan Meachum (1,396 on 225). Meachum lost most of the 2019 season to injury and Chestnut had a breakthrough, rushing 293 times for 1,495 yards (second most in FCS that year, and second-highest singleseason total in school history to Keshaudes Spence’s 1,669 in 2013).
Last season, after leading Sacred Heart to the NEC title and NCAA playoff appearance, he was named a First-Team All-America by The Associated Press, one of his numerous AllAmerica honors.
Many players with comparable success — in all sports — are sucked into the transfer portal, eyeing advanced prestige and exposure.
“It’s always a fear,” said Nofri, whose team has finished atop the NEC four times in his nine seasons. “We told him, the offense is running through you. And our offensive coordinator, Matt Gardner, put it this way: If you’re at a blackjack table and it’s hot, why are you going to get up and leave when you’re making money? Why go to another table? You stay right here and play your hot hand.”
Chestnut (6 feet 1, 230 pounds) is at the doorstep of program history with 3,063 career rushing yards, second only to Spence
(3,745 in 2011-14).
He runs through defenders. And around them.
NFL scouts come and go from campus. Eagles’ representatives are expected to attend Saturday’s opener against Bucknell. Chestnut is on all the major preseason watch lists — the Payton Award and the Senior Bowl, to name a couple.
“I’d like to see him rush for 2,000 yards and 30 touchdowns,” Nofri said. “But as long as he’s happy and we’re winning, that’s what that matters. He’s fun, he’s genuine and everybody gets along with him. I’ve never seen him have a bad day. He’s always smiling. He’s never in a bad mood.”
Chestnut could get drafted after this season. He could sign with an NFL team as a free agent if he isn’t. He could return for a fifth year at Sacred Heart. And should his view somehow shift in the coming months, he could, of course, opt to play a final season of college football elsewhere as a grad student. The value of a fifth college season, anywhere, will depend on how the next few months go and what the NFL community makes of his work.
“Growing up, telling people you want to be an NFL player, they’re like, ‘Yeah, you better come up with a backup plan,’ ” Chestnut said. “I don’t know any backup plan. I just want to be in the NFL. That it’s (close), I know I can do it. You put the work in, you’re going to get where you need to be.”
Chestnut said he’d some day like to get into coaching. Nofri thinks Chestnut would make a great agent, considering his personality and area of study. Chestnut’s mother works for the government. His father owns and runs a landscaping business — with occasional help from his son.
Throughout high school and even college — aside from 2021, with time dedicated to training in Florida and Arizona — Chestnut worked summers as part of his father’s crew, waking up at 5 a.m. to load trucks and lay mulch.
“I appreciate what he does,” Chestnut said. “That’s a skill I can take with me into life. If I need to cut grass for my wife one day, I can do it.”
Chestnut talks about this sort of the thing with the same pride he does football success. He’s a curious, gregarious young man.
For the way Chestnut “flew” around the football field, he was known as “Jay Bird” in Bowie. With athletes’ ability to profit off their name, image and likeness, his family has established Jay Bird Sports LLC. Chestnut isn’t pursuing much on that front, though. He has big dreams and goals but the best way for him to advance his career and life is to keep doing what he’s been doing, day by day, same place, no distractions, dashing end zone to end zone, bowling alley to bookstore and beyond.
“Since the time I arrived here, it’s been about growing and growing,” Chestnut said. “I’ve seen it with the football program. And I’ve seen it with the campus.”