Little (Flanders, N.J. / Mt. Olive HS) is coming off the best season of his career, having logged 1,042 yards and seven touchdowns on 200 carries. The 5-foot-11, 220-pound standout ranked second in the Big South Conference with 115.8 rushing yards per game, topping the 1,000-yard mark despite missing two games midway through the season with an injury.

The fifth-year senior became the first Gardner-Webb back to top 1,000 yards since Justin Richardson did so in 2000 during the school's first year of Division I FCS competition.

Little topped 100 yards six times in 2011 and became the first back in the program's Division I history to go over 140 yards at least four times in a season. He had a season-high 162 yards on 27 carries at Samford, and went for 153 yards on 23 carries against nationally-ranked Stony Brook.

He averaged 120.5 yards per game in Big South Conference play.

Little returns to spearhead a veteran Gardner-Webb offense in 2012. The Runnin' Bulldogs welcome back eight starters from last season, with seven of those eight starters in the senior class. Five of those senior starters are on the offensive line, which is projected to average a healthy 6-foot-4, 296 pounds per man.

Gardner-Webb opens the 2012 season at home on Saturday, September 1, vs. Wofford. Kickoff is set for 6:00 pm in Ernest W. Spangler Stadium.