Running Back Beats the Odds With Roster Spot

Julius Chestnut has a chance to become the second player from Sacred Heart University ever to appear in an NFL regular season game.

Steve Roberts/USA Today Sports

NASHVILLE – It didn’t take long for Julius Chestnut to make a positive impression.

With the clock winding down in the first half of the Tennessee Titans’ preseason opener against the Baltimore Ravens, the 5-foot-11, 228-pound running back displayed of power and speed with a 27-yard run around right end.

Even after that big play, however, and even after Chestnut continued to produce in practices and games, it was easy to write him off as just another nice training camp story.

Who makes an NFL roster out of Sacred Heart University, after all? The Fairfield, Connecticut-based school has an FCS football program, one that plays its home games at Campus Field – capacity 3,334 fans.

Chestnut learned he’d beaten the odds on Tuesday, however, when he earned a spot on the Titans’ initial 53-man roster. He joined two other undrafted rookies, cornerback Tre Avery and punter Ryan Stonehouse as survivors of the final cut of the preseason.

“I thought about the odds even before I got to the (Titans),” Chestnut said. “Because I was like, `Wherever I go – drafted or undrafted – it’s going to be a tough job for me, just because of where I come from and how it is.’

“That's why I always carry that chip on my shoulder. But yeah, I definitely thought about (the odds).”

A handful of Sacred Heart alums have spent time with NFL teams over the years, but only one has played regular-season games in the league, per Pro Football Reference. Defensive back Jon Corto spent three years with Buffalo (2008-2010) and appeared in 43 games for the Bills during that stretch.

Assuming Chestnut keeps his spot, he’ll have a chance to become Sacred Heart’s second NFL alum in fewer than two weeks.

“There’s just very (few) out of Sacred Heart that (have been) on the 53-man rosters,” Chestnut said. “So everybody there called me to congratulate me and things like that. It’s truly like a high expectation that’s held for me now.”

Chestnut made a surprisingly smooth transition to the NFL with 26 carries for 106 yards and a touchdown in the preseason. The thick-bodied back posted a carry of at least 12 yards in each of the three contests. He added three catches for 22 yards.

He even helped his cause by contributing on special teams, playing 62 snaps in the kicking game against Baltimore, Tampa Bay and Arizona.

In the end, franchise officials had no choice but to keep Chestnut, despite the presence of Derrick Henry, Dontrell Hilliard, fellow rookie Hassan Haskins and fullback Tory Carter in the running backs room.

“With Julius, he ran hard, he ran tough,” general manager Jon Robinson said. “He played good on special teams. He actually caught the ball better than I thought he would.

“And anything we asked him to do, he didn’t have a whole lot of mental errors. We didn’t know if we could get him through waivers, but he also earned the opportunity on the team.”

Chestnut said it was a great feeling when the Titans called to let him know he’d made the initial 53-man roster, a reward for all the hard work he’d put in during training camp.

He was pretty happy to get a pat on the back from Henry as well.

“I definitely was,” Chestnut said. “He told me congratulations, and just keep working.”