Steve Sarkisian praises freshman defender's start to Longhorns career

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas Longhorns true freshman Graceson Littleton has turned heads to start the 2025 season, standing out as one of the defense's rising young talents. The young defensive back drew some early compliments from Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian with a few impressive performances to start his career at Texas.

"I think that football is the most important thing in his life," Sarkisan said about Littleton. "The guy got here, what mattered to him was being a great player, learning the defense, understanding how to work in the weight room [and] getting in Michael Taaffe's hip pocket."

A four-star recruit and the 10th-ranked cornerback in his class, Littleton joined Texas as part of the Longhorns' No. 1-ranked recruiting class in 2025, according to 247Sports. Littleton has impressed in his first season on the "Forty Acres," recording six tackles, a pass breakup and an interception through the first three games of the season.

"That's really hard for freshmen," Sarkisian said. "It's the first time you're away from home...With freedom can come tougher choices and decisions to make. I think one thing Graceson Littleton has done is put his head down and work and made football the priority."

Quickly looking to establish a name for himself, Littleton is proving to be a welcome asset to one of the nation's best defenses.

"It shows the trust that he's earned, not only from the defensive coaches, but from coach (Jeff) Banks on special teams, (and) I think it shows in the respect that he has earned from his teammates," Sarkisian said. "I think it's all a byproduct of the mindset that this guy has come in with from day one."

Littleton was originally committed to the Clemson Tigers but flipped to the Longhorns in November 2024, nearly two weeks after he was given an offer from Texas.

"It wasn't about how many stars or where he came from or what high school," Sarkisian said. "We didn't recruit him for three years, maybe we recruited [Littleton] for two and a half months, maybe, and he decided to flip and come here. But he came in with a workman-type mentality, and it shows."

Littleton will have another opportunity to show off that mentality this Saturday in Texas' home matchup against Sam Houston. Texas Gameday is the official pregame show of Texas football and will be live at 6 p.m. on KBVO on Saturday ahead of the showdown.