The Big Tenn

Saw a familiar face down at the football fieldhouse this morning taking pictures of football camp participants.

Fans of Tiger football and a lot of opposing d-linemen will remember Littleton Dean. Littleton, a high school star in Tennessee, was originally signed out of high school as a linebacker by the University of Arkansas but ended up playing the final three years of his eligibility at ETBU from 2002-04. By the time he saw the field in a Tiger uniform he had been converted to a defensive lineman.

You don't see a lot of six-foot, maybe five-eleven, 200-pound defensive linemen in college football. But when Littleton arrived at ETBU, the Tigers' middle linebacker spot was manned of course by the program's all-time leading tackler Greg Washington. And Washington was necessarily ready to give that spot up, so Dean had nowhere to go as a standup linebacker.

But he was quick as a cat, and he was as aggressive a player as has ever come through this program. He also had a knack for finding the ballcarrier and doing it rather quickly, no matter where he was. So entering the 2003 season, coaches put Littleton in a defensive tackle position right next to big 300-pounder Thomas Young-Davis.

You'll remember what happened over the next 12 games. Dean earned All-America honors as the Tigers went 9-3 and advanced two rounds deep in the playoffs. He created havoc all over the field, and it was him bursting through the line to block Trinity's extra point in overtime that gave the Tigers a 42-41 win in the first round of the playoffs in Ornelas Stadium.

Littleton has gone on to play some Arena Football, with Laredo in the AF2 league. In talking to him this morning he had received an offer to try out with the arena team in Odessa, but was leaning toward hanging it up. He was just stopping by to work out in the newly-refurbished Tiger weight room, which several former Tigers have done over the last couple of years.

He still looked like he could jump a snap count too, and hit the quarterback before he ever turned around. That was Littleton Dean right there.