MOBILE, Ala. – It's taken a long, twisting path for Jeremiah Littles to make it to the forefront of the University of South Alabama football program, and thanks to the senior's efforts both on and off the field it's hard not to notice him now that he has stepped into the limelight.

Whether it's on the defensive line at the point of attack or leading a peaceful march through campus, Littles is likely one of the first Jaguars who will catch your eye.  The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that hit the United States earlier in the year forced the program to miss out on participating in spring practice and social justice issues that followed affected individuals across the nation, but prior experience steeled the 6-foot-2 defensive end to step up when his team needed him most.

"Just being a leader on the team has led guys to come to me about it, but I've also tried to bring ideas to the other leaders in the program so we could talk," Littles said.  "With COVID-19 and not knowing if we would have a season, and then seeing all that stuff on social media it brought a lot of things to our attention.  We would talk amongst ourselves to see what we could bring to Coach [Steve] Campbell and figure out what we could do.  Social media has been a big part of it, guys have seen things that have blown up and saw an opportunity for change to happen in certain situations.  This has been going on for years and years, people have spoken out and done things but it came to a point where people wanted to actually take a stand and try to make a change rather than do a quick little post.

That Littles was at the front of the movement within the team was not the least bit surprising to Campbell.

"I already knew Jeremiah had a great heart, but I've learned that he has a heart for everybody," he said.  "I know that he wants to see the right things being done not only locally but nationally, and that he wants to help.  He wants to be a part of the change, and he wants his teammates and our coaching staff to be a part of the change.  I think it is important to him to be a difference maker — he tries to be a difference maker on the field, and he wants to be a difference maker outside the lines."

Although he has been involved with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes dating back to middle school, the foundation for Littles making an impact off the field dates back to the 2012-13 school year when he was a freshman at McIntosh County Academy.  That was when he participated on a mission trip to Eleuthera, Bahamas.

"You drove a boat to this place that was like a third-world country; houses were stacked up on each other, kids had no clothes," Littles recalled.  "All we had to do was share the gospel and play with them, every day we would go over and I would hear stories about guys who didn't have the same opportunities I had.  It was a moment for me to see that what we have in the United States is beyond their wildest dreams — having a nice cold bottle of water in the fridge that we can get is something that they don't have access to — which helped me realize that I needed to be grateful for what I have and that we are blessed.  That trip was a good experience, I definitely wanted to go back but never had the opportunity to because that's when football got serious for me.

"It has played a role, but part of it is also how my parents raised me," he continued.  "Going on that trip was an opportunity for me to expand on where I'm from and see a whole different world from where I live.  Coming back to the States I was grateful and knew I had a chance to help others no matter where they were.  I still look back on that trip today because what I saw there is happening all over the world; there's probably a kid up the street from where I live who doesn't have food.  It just opens your mind and you can see the world for more than what it is and not what you think it is every day."

But when he arrived at South Alabama in 2016, the time was not right for Littles to assume an immediate leadership role within the program.  But coming into 2020 it was a role he was ready to accept.

"Thinking back to when I was a freshman, there were a lot of guys to look up to on the team," he said.  "You had Gerald [Everett], Kevin [Kutchera] and Josh Magee who transferred from UAB, there were guys like Sean Grayer and Chason Milner who were all older than me.  I knew I was going to be a leader and had to take a step, but I honestly didn't think it would be this big.  I thought it was going to be a great opportunity.  It has changed because I thought I was just going to lead by example, but these last few months have not been normal at all.  Looking in the defensive line room, we lost a lot of guys who I grew up with at South so now I'm literally the only one in my group who has been here and played for a while.  It has changed, but you have to think outside the box and get outside your comfort zone and do things you wouldn't normally do."

As the calendar turned to 2020, it was also a role that Campbell wanted to see Littles fill throughout the course of the year.  "Jeremiah has been a 'take care of business' guy on and off the field, he has always taken care of his business in the classroom and busted his behind out here on the football field," he said.  "Those are the guys who you want to be your leaders, they're not just talking but they're walking the walk.  Jeremiah has done that with his work out on the field and in the classroom, so you want him to be a leader and expect a lot out of because he delivers every time and the more you put on his plate the more he delivers."

"Jeremiah is an awesome young man and a leader; it's not just by talk, he is a leader by action," added current defensive line coach Harland Bower.  "He does everything the right way, whether it is in the way he communicates or hustles on and off the field.  He is a leader by every stretch of the imagination."

Perhaps Littles' ability to serve as a leader for the Jaguars at this time stems from another of his interests off the field.

"I like to learn a lot," he explained, citing time spent on YouTube as an aid in his development.  "That's where I've learned how to cook a lot of different things and how to fix things but also to get more information about where I live; there are a lot of historical things where I live that I could look up and then go visit.  If I'm going somewhere, I like to look it up and find out more about the place and what I might be able to see."

One could look at his undergraduate degree — earned last December — in professional health sciences or his work toward a public administration master's degree and wonder what Littles' future plans are, but that's where his interest in doing research has opened up possibilities.  "My dad, uncle, and my brother's Godfather all have been in the shrimping business so I grew up around that, we would do fish frys and crab boils," he said.  "And my mom would just let me do what I wanted in the kitchen sometimes, that's where it started.  Two years ago I would do meal preps for people, I would come home from practice and cook 20 meals for others to prep, I had to stop because it was too much.  I love to cook, and I love to learn.

"I always wanted to go to culinary school, I would like to get into the business and wanted to know more about it.  When I go on YouTube I will look for guys who have opened up a restaurant or who have started in real estate.  I'll look up food trucks and research how much they cost, where do they do the best business, what type of food would I want to do.  I'm in college so I don't have a lot of money, what can I be saving now to put myself in a position to do that?

"I was talking to my cousin one day and he got me to think outside the box about five-star hotels where people come and have big group dinners, he thought with my major and my master's I could be in a position to organize and manage that process.  Which was a good idea because I was stuck with what I wanted to do with my major."
 

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Just as it has taken time for Littles to find his role in South's locker room, it took some time for football to become his focus when it came to athletic activities.  The first sport he recalls playing while growing up in Darien, Ga., was soccer — "my mom didn't let me play football for some reason," he laughed — waiting until he was eight years old to try football.  Even then, his love for the sport was not immediate.

"I really didn't like it, but the year after that I started to get the hang of it and I also knew I was pretty much bigger than everybody else," said Littles.  "I didn't find real joy in it.  My dad was the coach and my older brother played, it was not like I was forced but they knew I was going to play football.  I liked basketball more for some reason, I was more competitive in that than I was in football; I felt that basketball challenged me, when I played football I used to score on almost every play.  My brother and I would be in the backyard playing one-on-one, that was more competitive because he would challenge me at stuff that I wasn't good at."

Despite that, Littles found his way onto the field at McIntosh County Academy.  After two years, however, he was ready for a step up in level as his hopes of playing in college grew.

"I didn't see the program going where I wanted to be, not only that but we were at the 2A level so there wasn't much competition and I was always competitive and looking to challenge myself," Littles said.  "When the opportunity came to play at another school with better competition including guys who would be playing in college, I thought that would prepare me.  That move was something my mom and dad made a sacrifice for; if I didn't have parents who were willing to do that I wouldn't have done it."

What resulted was Littles earning second-team all-state honors following his junior season at Wayne County High, when — playing linebacker — he led the state with 176 total tackles highlighted by making 19½ stops behind the line of scrimmage.  The next year he was a first-team all-state selection, and by that time his recruitment had taken off.

"I know every guy who was highly recruited has experienced this, but it was crazy," Littles explained.  "I was being recruited by literally all the SEC schools, some from the ACC and a couple from the Big Ten.  They would come almost every week because there were a few other guys in the area they could see at the same time."

Schools showing the most interest at the time included Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, but as coaching staffs recruiting Littles debated where they wanted to put him on the field — "no one knew if they wanted me to play defensive end or linebacker" — it opened an opportunity for the staff of former head coach Joey Jones to pitch him on coming to Mobile.  "[Former South assistant] Coach [Travis] Pearson came to my school and interrogated me, but he gave me an offer," said Littles.  "But that offer was based on info from a coach of a team we played who said they needed to offer me.  Then [former assistant] Coach [Kane] Wommack came and told me they wanted me to play defensive end, they had brought in a few linebackers so that's when I made the move.  But I almost went JUCO.  The only coach I was talking to was Coach Jones, I would speak to him almost every single day just to check on my recruiting process since I was going to be a blueshirt after committing late.

"Most schools were recruiting just one linebacker.  When I was at Georgia I saw their board and it had all the top linebackers in the nation.  At that point I didn't have an offer from any SEC school and I could see that I was their fourth or fifth choice.  2016 had one of the best high school linebacker classes.  Oregon wanted me to play linebacker but they said I wouldn't be fast enough.  I was ready to go to New Mexico Military Institute, there were schools who called me on signing day and said they would offer me if I went there first."

Instead, Littles chose to come to South, attending classes over the summer before being put on scholarship after the start of preseason camp in 2016.  Listed then as a 235-pound defensive end, he did make it on the field in the opener against Mississippi State and recorded a pair of tackles on special teams to help the Jags earn a historic 21-20 win over the Bulldogs in Starkville.  But that would turn out to be the only game action Littles would see over the next two years.

"I thought I was redshirting, and that was before they made the rule where you could play four games and keep your redshirt," he said.  "In reality, I could've played that whole year and even gotten some snaps at defensive end.  So I came back my sophomore year and did the same thing as my freshman year, but what made it worse is that I was travelling to games and was in great shape ready to play.  One thing I try to remember is I could've played my sophomore year and gotten a little time, but last year would've been my last season of eligibility.  My sophomore year was kind of depressing, but it was a sacrifice and I'm reaping the benefits of that now being able to play in the new stadium."

Following the conclusion of the 2017 season is when Campbell was hired to take over the reigns of the program.

"I think the first thing I noticed about Jeremiah was that he was a high-quality, high-character kid," recalled Bower.  "When I first got here he was not a starter or the No. 1 guy on the depth chart, but every time you would interact with him you knew that he was raised the right way."

After experimenting on the inside on the defensive line, Littles has returned to end where he has been able to make an impact for the Jags despite coming on in relief.  In 2018 — his first under the current staff — he was credited with 16 stops including four for loss, and last fall Littles posted 4½ tackles behind the line among his 14 total stops.  And he accomplished that despite missing significant time in the offseason while recovering from two different injuries.  Littles was out for 10 weeks while recovering from a surgical procedure on his left knee, then was forced to miss six months while working his way back from left shoulder surgery following the conclusion of last season.

Despite being limited while the Jaguars were forced to work out from home during the pandemic, Littles has taken over as a starter on the defensive line this fall.  He was able to record eight tackles in South's first two contests this season, tying a career-high after making five stops highlighted by 1½ for loss in a 32-21 victory at Southern Miss to begin the campaign.

"I think that over the last couple of years Jeremiah has been a really good football player," Bower explained.  "He has been stuck on the depth chart a little bit being a younger guy, but even last year he helped us a lot.  His issue has always been injuries, now that he is healthy and able to practice full speed every day is how he has risen up the depth chart to become our No. 1 guy."

"It's just his effort.  He is not the biggest, strongest or fastest guy in the world, but his desire and his motor make him a special football player," added Campbell.  "With anyone special it is their 'want to,' and he has a high motor and plays the game extremely hard."

The Jaguars have nine games remaining on their regular-season schedule including tonight's match-up against in-state rival UAB.  The goals for Littles and the program are very simple.  "We just want to be consistent throughout the week to be able to play four quarters.  We don't have a week where we can slack off, every game is going to be a fight that comes down to the end," he said.  "Individually, I just want to play a full season and show what could've been the last three years.  A lot of leadership has been put on my shoulders and I want to be able to show that I can handle it."
 

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Where might Littles' path lead after the year?  The initial hope is to continue playing the sport he didn't initially love.

"I definitely want to pursue that dream of making it to the NFL," he said.  "I would like to put as much really good film out there as I can this season, you never know where there is going to be an opportunity and that film will help.  I think I need more effort plays because that's what scouts look for the most from what I am hearing.  I know how to play linebacker, I've played outside linebacker, stand-up and down defensive end, I've played the three technique and the four, I am very versatile and hoping that helps me when it's time for scouts to look at me.  I hope they see I am not limited to one position or one type of body, if I need to bulk up more to be an inside guy I can do that and if I need to drop weight and get faster I think I can do that too."

And if that road doesn't work out, Littles has some thoughts on that possibility too.  "There are a lot of places I want to be," he said.  "I love my home, but I don't think I want to live there right off the bat.  But eventually I want to either build a place or own a place back home, it's on the water and real nice so either I can make a profit off that or just use it as a vacation home depending on my circumstances.  But there is also the side of me that wants to travel all over the world, see and experience things I've never seen before.  Depending on whether or not I make it professionally in football could determine what city I'm in, but if that doesn't work out I can probably start in Kansas City because that's where my girlfriend lives right now.  There are a lot of places we could go."

With the number of twists and turns the path of Jeremiah Littles has taken over the years, an additional curve in the road would not come as a surprise.  The only difference now is that people outside the program are more likely to notice.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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