Fifth-year Antwain Littleton Jr. arrived in Kingston this season and got the starting running back job for the University of Rhode Island football team, and he never looked back as he quickly burst onto the scene for the Rams.
Littleton Jr. spent his first three years at the University of Maryland before transferring to Temple University for his senior year and finally coming over to Rhode Island for his graduate season. There were big shoes to fill for Littleton Jr., as he was expected to be the next guy up for URI after running back Malik Grant ’25, who graduated in May, put up 1,426 yards and 13 touchdowns last season for the Rams.
“You lose a one-year transfer that got 1400+ yards, and you look for a guy that can fill that role,” URI Head Coach Jim Fleming said. “Coach [Mike] Flanagan and the offensive staff scoured the country and found Antwain was a really good fit, and he has picked up right where Malik left off.”
Fleming said that Littleton Jr. was able to adapt well to the playbook when he got to URI, fitting right into the scheme of the Rams’ offense.
“Right from the get-go, Antwain worked through training camp and was able to learn the stuff,” Fleming said. “He is a talented running back who is smart, very motivated and handles his business in a professional way.”
Littleton Jr. talked about why he chose to come to URI for his final year of college football and why Rhode Island stuck out to him.
“I feel the sense of community that’s here,” Littleton Jr. said. “The people outside of football really open their arms and treat you like family, and I wanted to be around a group of guys who had the same goal as me.”
Littleton Jr. is not just adapting to playing football on the field at URI, but has also been able to adapt off the field and in the locker room, building friendships with his teammates and continuing to grow team chemistry.
“I’ve just been able to get to learn [from] these guys and grow with them,” Littleton Jr. said. “I got here in winter workouts and introduced myself, and that’s where we started building our bond from there.”
As the season has gone on, the strong culture of Rhode Island has helped lead the Rams to the top of the Coastal Athletic Association standings.
“We got into camp, and everything was just full steam rolling,” Littleton Jr. said. “We haven’t looked back since, and now we’re looking to take over the CAA championship.”
For Rhode Island, Littleton Jr. has been able to be the player that the Rhode Island coaching staff expected him to be, putting up 952 yards and nine touchdowns in 10 games played, and will look to continue to be a major factor for the Rams in the Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs.
“Going into the game, I feel I set a good tone, giving the team the energy,” Littleton Jr. said. “Just making explosive plays and getting the guys on the sideline and the coaches riled up helps the team feed off energy, and it takes us through the whole game.”
Littleton Jr. will look to continue his successful campaign with the Rams, coming off a massive performance on Saturday against the University of Maine, where he rushed for 202 yards and two touchdowns in the victory.
Rhode Island and Littleton Jr. will take on Hampton University with a chance to clinch an outright CAA title for the first time in program history at 1 p.m. on Saturday. The game will stream on FloCollege, with radio broadcasts available on The Varsity Network and WRIU 90.3 FM.
