Tennessee will open its 2024 campaign against Chattanooga at Neyland Stadium on Aug. 31.
In anticipation of the season opener, VolReport is highlighting a former Vols player whose jersey number matches the amount of days until kickoff.
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With one day to go, Leonard Little who was an All-American and two-time All-SEC player that split time between defensive end and linebacker for Tennessee's vaunted defenses of the mid-1990s, is selected.
Little starred at Asheville High School in North Carolina, earning All-American status by multiple outlets after totaling 256 tackles over four seasons. He began his college career at Coffeyville Community College where he logged 88 tackles and an interceptions in just seven games.
Little transferred to Tennessee in 1995 and made an immediate impact during the Vols' 11-win campaign that year. He started 11 games at defensive end and was named Second Team All-SEC, helping the Vols defense set the program's single-season sack record with 42. Little accounted for 11 sacks on his own.
As a junior in 1996, Little was steaming towards an All-America selection with 33 tackles and 8.5 sacks at the midway point of the season. Among his biggest quarterback disruptions was dislodging the ball from Alabama quarterback Freddie Kitchens on the Crimson Tides' final drive deep inside Tennessee territory, thwarting their game-tying efforts in a 20-13 Vols victory.
One week later, Little's season ended abruptly with a knee injury late against South Carolina that sidelined him for the last four games. He returned the following year in 1997 to total 8.5 more sacks and six tackles for loss during Tennessee's SEC title run and garnering All-American recognition.
Little was selected by the St. Louis Rams in the third round of the 1998 NFL Draft and spent the entirety of his 11-year pro career with the franchise. He had 12 tackles and 5.0 sacks the year that the Rams won Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000.
Little was named First Team All-Pro and Pro Bowl in 2003.
In the Tennessee record books, Little's name isn't far down the list in all-time sack leaders. He ranks third behind Derek Barnett and Reggie White with 28 sacks over three seasons and first in tackles for loss with 53.
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