Floyd Little, Football, 1964-66
Running Back
5-11, 195
New Haven, Conn.
New Haven, Conn.
Bordentown Military Institute
1964 All-American
1965 All-AmericanÂ
1966Â All-American
Â
A three-time All-American running back and legend of the celebrated number 44 jersey, Little holds the Orange record for career touchdowns (46) and career punts returned for at touchdown (5). Little was named the 1966 ECAC Player of the Year. As a member of the Denver Broncos, he was selected for five Pro Bowls. In 1983, he was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame.
Senior Year (1966): Named All-America and ECAC Player of the Year … Finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting … Split time with Larry Csonka … Rushed for 811 yards on 162 carries for a 5.0 average … Scored 15 total touchdowns, including 12 rushing touchdowns … Had 13 receptions for 186 yards and two touchdowns … Had one punt return for a touchdown … Rushed for a school-record 216 yards and one TD on 29 carries against Tennessee in the Gator Bowl.
Junior Year (1965): Earned All-America honors for the second year in a row … Finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting … Became the first Syracuse back to run for more than 1,000 yards, gaining 1,065 on 193 carries for a 5.5 average … Scored 14 touchdowns, the most ever by a Syracuse back at the time … Led the nation with 19 touchdowns and finished second with 114 points … Tied the Syracuse record for most receptions in a season with 21 … Was the first Syracuse player to gain more than 2,000 all-purpose yards in a season … Rushed for 196 yards against West Virginia … Scored four touchdowns against Pittsburgh and three each against Maryland, Penn State, Holy Cross and West Virginia … Led team in punt and kickoff returns … Still holds Syracuse record for longest punt return with his 95-yard return against Pittsburgh … Had 85-yard kickoff return against Holy Cross and 69 and 72-yard punt returns against Penn State and Maryland, respectively.
Sophomore Year (1964): Earned All-America, All-East and Sophomore of the Year in the East honors … Surpassed Ernie Davis’ and Jim Brown’s sophomore marks with 828 rushing yards on 149 carries for a average of 5.6 … Led team in receptions and receiving yards with 16 catches for 248 yards and one touchdown … Scored 12 touchdowns on the season … Led the team in punt return yards (270) and kickoff return yards (335) … Completed both of his pass attempts, including one for a touchdown … Scored five touchdowns against Kansas … Rushed for more than 150 yards twice during the season.
Personal: Born Floyd Douglas Little … Majored in history … Attended Bordentown Military Academy in New Jersey … Was elected into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983.
|
Carries
|
Yards
|
Avg.
|
TDs
|
|
|
1964
|
149
|
828
|
5.6
|
9
|
|
1965
|
193
|
1,065
|
5.5
|
14
|
|
1966
|
162
|
811
|
5.0
|
12
|
|
TOTALS
|
504
|
2,704
|
5.4
|
35
|
|
Recpt.
|
Yards
|
Avg.
|
TDs
|
|
|
1964
|
16
|
248
|
15.5
|
1
|
|
1965
|
21
|
248
|
11.8
|
1
|
|
1966
|
13
|
86
|
6.6
|
2
|
|
TOTALS
|
50
|
582
|
11.6
|
4
|
|
Comp./Att.
|
Yards
|
Int.
|
TDs
|
|
|
1964
|
2/2
|
9
|
0
|
1
|
|
1965
|
1/4
|
10
|
0
|
0
|
|
1966
|
0/0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
TOTALS
|
3/6
|
19
|
0
|
1
|
|
KO Ret.
|
Yards
|
Avg.
|
TDs
|
|
|
1964
|
11
|
335
|
30.0
|
0
|
|
1965
|
8
|
254
|
31.7
|
1
|
|
1966
|
9
|
208
|
23.1
|
0
|
|
TOTALS
|
28
|
797
|
28.5
|
1
|
|
Punt Ret.
|
Yards
|
Avg.
|
TDs
|
|
|
1964
|
11
|
270
|
24.5
|
2 |
|
1965
|
18
|
423
|
23.5
|
3
|
|
1966
|
14
|
152
|
10.9
|
1
|
|
TOTALS
|
43
|
845
|
19.6
|
6 |
