Duke Lineman Stuns Teammates With Impromptu Opera Performance

Duke Football

Duke University football player Chance Lytle is an excellent example of why you should never judge a book by its cover. Beneath his 6-foot-7, 329-pound exterior lies the voice of an angel.

During a team meal on Sunday, the 24-year-old offensive lineman shocked his teammates by belting out a few lines from a familiar Italian opera.

A video shared to the team's social media pages shows Lytle smashing Andrea Bocelli's "Con te partirò." When he finished the brief a cappella performance, everyone jumped from their seats and began cheering.

"He goes up there and I have no clue what the name of the song was," linebacker Dorian Mausi told The News & Observer. "But I'm like ooooh snaap! He got that on for sure."

Lytle, a graduate transfer, earned a dual degree in music and voice performance and psychology at University of Colorado Boulder. The San Antonio native has been studying music since he was a child, though he quickly learned that playing the violin and tackling people on the football field don't always go hand-in-hand. That's when he discovered a love for singing.

"Offensive linemen tend to get a lot of damage to their fingers and hands," Lytle told The News & Observer. "So I figured maybe it'd be more profitable and would be safer long term for my career if I stuck with voice. I just kind of fell in love with it. I realized I didn't really want to switch back. I still love playing violin, but I have more of a natural talent for (voice). That's just kind of the path that unfolded before me for opera."

At Colorado, Lytle performed in various operas, including "The Marriage of Figaro" and "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street." But, prior to Sunday's performance, his teammates at Duke had no idea he was an opera singer.

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"He's great," sophomore wide receiver Shamir Hagans told the newspaper. "And it shocked me. I really wasn't expecting that, to be honest. You know, most of the players' singing is pretty bad. But he got up there and he killed it. He definitely killed it."

Lytle, who is currently battling for a starting position with the Blue Devils, hopes to go on to play professional football someday. And then, if all goes well, he plans to make a career out of singing.

"The starving artists thing is very real," Lytle told The News & Observer. "I actually have some very good skills on the football field that I'll probably try and apply in different ways. I'm not exactly sure yet. But long term, yeah, the goal is to make singing my entire living."

Well Chance, you've certainly got plenty of fans rooting for you!