Steve Sarkisian Names Freshman That Left Him 'Very Impressed' Against Ohio State

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Cami Griffin | Last updated Sep 4, 2025 2:24 PM ET

There always tends to be a particular player or two that takes everyone by surprise each offseason.

For the Texas Longhorns, that player happened to be true freshman cornerback Graceson Littleton this season. Sure, Texas signed the No. 1 overall recruiting class in the nation and were expecting big things from the group, but Littleton was the ninth highest ranked player in the class and hardly spoken about. Recruits like Jonah Williams, Justus Terry, Kaliq Lockett, and Kade Phillips seemingly received most of the hype ahead of him.

Littleton's name quickly began to surface on X on July 30 when media spotted him receiving first-team reps at star while also being featured on special teams. The hype around his potential to receive significant playing time as a true freshman only grew since then.

The hype surrounding his performance in fall camp even reached the national media, where ESPN tabbed Littleton one of their 10 most impactful freshman for the 2025 season. Fortunately for the Longhorns, Littleton lived up to the hype in Texas' season opener against Ohio State and then some.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian had nothing but high praise for Littleton's performance against the Buckeyes. "For that guy in that environment, in his first game, to play the amount of snaps he played at critical moments, some critical third down plays, third down stops, tackles, very impressed by him," Sarkisian said.

Littleton challenged Ohio State's top receiver, Jeremiah Smith, step for step all game but arguably his best play of the matchup can be viewed below.

True freshman Graceson Littleton on the country’s best WR, Jeremiah Smith. pic.twitter.com/2WfKvru1ej
— CJ Vogel (@CJVogel_OTF) August 30, 2025

Sarkisian has repeatedly mentioned that it doesn’t matter if you’re a fifth-year senior or true freshman, what matters most to him is consistency and whether the coaching staff can trust you. Time will tell if Littleton can continue showcasing that over the course of the season.

The Longhorns will face San Jose State in Week 2 at 11 a.m. CT.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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