FSU starting safety Earl Little Jr. announced he’s declaring for the 2026 NFL Draft. The All-ACC Second Teamer led FSU in tackles and interceptions in 2025.
It makes sense. Earl Little Jr. graduated from FSU earlier this month and will turn 23 years old in mid-March. He’s been mocked as the No. 9 safety prospect, according to NFLDraftbuzz.com. Little Jr. played with a physicality that was missing from FSU since the days of Derwin James roaming everywhere on the field.
FSU DB Earl Little declares for the NFL Draft. pic.twitter.com/fyTUuVvbww
— Warchant.com (@Warchant) December 30, 2025
He’s not a Derwin James-type prospect, but he’ll be missed in that FSU secondary in 2026. FSU lost its other starting safety, Ashlynd Barker, to the transfer portal a couple of days ago.
However, the FSU secondary lacked leadership as we discussed in this piece earlier on Tuesday. The unit underachieved with the talent FSU recruited over the past couple of recruiting cycles. Much of that talent has moved on, as well as the coach who recruited it.
That means FSU will start with a crop of young, talented players from the 2025 and 2026 recruiting classes. They’ll also need to supplement via the transfer portal for experience and depth. This move by Little Jr. doesn’t come as a surprise since he’d have little benefit to return for another year, especially after he’s already dealt with some lingering injuries in his career.
It’ll be a good chance to reset the entire secondary while finding players that fit the defensive coverages that Tony White likes to use. There are lots of solid options in the transfer portal, and now we wait to see who FSU’s able to attract.