CHARLOTTE, N.C. – When it comes to the Florida State-Alabama game, quarterback Tommy Castellanos has drawn much of the attention on the FSU side.

That’s not surprising by any means. Quarterbacks are always going to lead headlines, and that’s especially true when they make comments as bold as he did to On3 back in June when he said he didn’t expect Alabama would be able to stop him.

But FSU defensive back Earl Little Jr. is probably the Seminole with the most personal connection to the first opponent of FSU’s 2025 season. Little is now in his second season with the Seminoles after signing with Alabama out of high school and spending his first two seasons in college with the Crimson Tide.

“My time there, I built a lot of great relationships with those guys,” Little said Wednesday at ACC Kickoff. “I still have relationships with those guys, but when we’re on the gridiron, it’s time to play. The friendship stuff goes out the window. We can rekindle after the game, but on the gridiron, it’s dog on dog.”

Little was a coveted four-star, top-100 prospect out of Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) American Heritage High in the 2022 recruiting class. However, a few injuries during his time at Alabama prevented him from breaking into the regular rotation as he played in 11 games and made two tackles over two seasons in Tuscaloosa.

In his first season at FSU, Little was quickly pegged as a rotation player at nickel corner. However, it didn’t prove to be the best spot for his skill-set as he struggled some there early in the season. A midseason shift to safety proved incredibly fruitful for Little, who finished the season strong to carry some momentum over into the offseason.

“Making that position change, I felt like it was the best position for me to go ahead and attack in the first place,” Little said. “I was all with it, 10 toes (down) with it. I found my groove and I’m excited for the new opportunity coming up as well.”

A shift on the defensive coaching staff with new defensive coordinator Tony White and new safeties coach Evan Cooper also was a change for the better for Little entering his fourth season in college football. He established himself as a contender to start at rover (a hybrid linebacker/safety position) early this offseason.

“(The new coaches) bring a lot of juice to the defense…” Little said. “We’re upstairs with those guys probably every day, learning the defense and building those relationships. It was smooth sailing when those guys came in. We all gelled together and it was a great thing.”

Little was considered a bit of a surprising choice when he was announced as one of four FSU player reps at ACC Kickoff this year. However, he’s been praised consistently by the FSU coaching staff this offseason for his impact on and off the field. White referred to Little as “him” multiple times during FSU’s spring camp.

“Earl is a guy that we have huge expectations for. He does it on the field, he does it off the field,” FSU coach Mike Norvell said Wednesday. “With this new role and new opportunity within this defense, I’m really excited for what this can be. He’s taken a lot of ownership in that defensive backfield. I’m really proud of all that he’s invested.”

Little saw first-hand as a new player on the team all the things that went wrong a season ago that led to the Seminoles’ brutal 2-10 season. Because of that, he has a good idea of the standard he’s going to hold his teammates in the secondary and across the FSU roster to once preseason camp begins on July 30.

“We’re definitely going to bring that energy this year. I want to see that from day one,” Little said. “I’m going to challenge my guys to bring that mentality and mental toughness every day to practice so that we can get better every day.”

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