Not so Little: Sutter QB just a sophomore

Trent Little was still a freshman when he was pulled into the office and given the news. As a 10th-grader, he would be the starting quarterback for the Sutter High football team.

"He jumped at the opportunity," Huskies coach Ryan Reynolds said.

Then he went about proving himself to his older teammates.

Step No. 1: Be a gym rat.

Every day over the summer, Little was the first one in and the last one to leave the weight room. Aside from the obvious strength boost, he also showed his fellow Huskies that he was taking his role seriously.

"He leads by example," fullback Trent Elwood said.

On top of throwing himself into conditioning workouts, Little went to five football camps this summer to prepare for the rigors of being a quarterback at a school with such high aspirations.

"We like his physical attributes, mental toughness and overall work ethic," Reynolds said.

And though Little isn't the screaming type, he isn't afraid to tell a blabbering senior in the huddle to shut it. Running back Justin Gildemeister said it was a "little hard to get used to at first," but now respects the underclassmen for speaking up.

As a quarterback running the Wing-T, Little will hand off to Gildemeister, Elwood and Elijah Smith. But Reynolds also wants to open up more of a passing game, which wasn't as prevalent last season with the loss of 2008 Appeal-Democrat All-Area MVP Jon Garcia.

So far the players like what they see from the sophomore's arm and the defense is impressed with his run fakes.

As for Little's take on it all — he just wants to help the Huskies.

"It's not really a one-person sport, it's all about the team," he said.