Texas Longhorns DB Named to Preseason Freshman All-American Team

Graceson Littleton Has Received Tons of Recent Praise

Littleton has been one of the more surprising stories coming out of Longhorns' fall camp. With the true freshman competing for first-team reps at the STAR position, one of the important positions on the Longhorns' defense. Steve Sarkisian was extremely complimentary towards Littleton at the start of fall camp.

“Graceson Littleton, for us, this guy had a great spring,” Sarkisian said. “I feel like I talked about him a lot, and maybe it was not fair to him because I was talking about him too much. But he just comes back. He works. He’s very savvy. He’s smart, he’s tough. He works at his craft. Football is the most important thing in his life, and it shows. He went out and had a good day today. You coach him hard. He takes hard coaching. He responds. He tries to get better. It’s a good start for him with where he’s at.”

Not only has Littleton received praise from his head coach, the freshman defensive back was also praised by the coach he works with closely on a consistent basis, that being Nickels coach Keynodo Hudson.

“He’s just a smart guy,” Hudson said. “Has high football IQ. Has great instincts, and has the athletic ability that’s like a combo player that has the skill set to play outside and then has the physicality and high football IQ to play inside. Once you’re able to play inside, you become an interchangeable part that can also play safety. You are a true interchangeable part on the defense.”

Whether Littleton finds himself on the field as a starter or not in Week 1 against the Ohio State Buckeyes on Aug. 30, the freshman will undoubtedly have an impact as a rotational player on defense and special teams. And as the season develops, Littleton could potentially be competing for a starting role in the Longhorns' secondary towards the back half of the year.