A Syracuse recruit sits in a chair in a Manley Field House office. On the walls around him, he sees a framed No. 44 jersey, a painting of three Syracuse football legends and a movie poster for “The Express.”

Sitting across a desk from him, five feet away, is Floyd Little.

“Sit back for a minute,” Little tells him, his voice soft and gravelly, a nearly hypnotic whisper. “Just close your eyes…just close your eyes.”

“Where do you want to be in five years?” he asks.

He’s giving them permission to daydream, something they don’t get a chance to do in class. He starts to notice the student-athlete drift away in thought.

“OK, open your eyes,” Little says. “I’m going to tell you how to get there.”

Little leans over and lets the kid know he’s just like him. He’s just people. Nothing special.

But that isn’t exactly true. Little is in seven halls of fame, was selected to five Pro Bowls, retired from the NFL as the sixth-leading rusher of all-time and is the only Syracuse football player to be named an All-American three times.

“I can’t motivate you,” Little said. “I can only inspire you to motivate yourself.”

As the special assistant to the athletic director, some days it’s Little’s job to inspire commits. Others, he might attend a women’s basketball game — a team whose games he refuses to miss.

In 2009, after spending about 30 years as a Ford dealer, Little spoke with then-athletic director Daryl Gross about returning to Syracuse, where he became a household name as a player from 1964-1966. Little had been back every once in awhile, but now his role at SU is full-time.

His job requires him to do “a little bit of everything.” He mentors student-athletes. He meets with recruits. He mediates and acts as a soundboard for frustrated employees who need to vent. And he recently served as a “mentor” to the transitioning athletic directors in April and May.

“There’s an instant respect you get with Floyd,” former interim AD Pete Sala said. “He’s the real deal, that’s all I can say. He did it the right way.”

In public, Little is an ambassador for the athletics program. He’s shown on the big screen shaking hands with the “Hero of the Game” and other special guests during home games at the Carrier Dome. He watches games from the sidelines, giving feedback to players with a thumb’s up, down or sideways.

He’s taken student-athletes from different sports under his wing. He’s worked with Durell Eskridge, Cam Lynch and Terrel Hunt of the football team.

After Syracuse lost 34-24 to then-No. 8 LSU, Little spoke to a locker room of players who didn’t want to say anything positive. Linebacker Zaire Franklin reflected on the few plays that could have turned the game. Scott Shafer said he wanted to “win the damn game for this town.”

“You won,” Little told the team after the game. “The score didn’t determine who won this game, you won this game.”

Interacting with student-athletes is a large part of Little’s job. But he also serves as a face of the athletic department, and his legend never escapes him. Sitting at his desk, he pulls out a stack of cards and letters, tucked behind a “swear jar,” from families, players and fans he’s influenced.

Little recalls an experience where a man wrote to him, hoping that his 90-year-old father could meet Little, his hero.

When Little obliged, the old man was so emotional he couldn’t speak when Little went to hug him and take a picture together. The man’s son told Little his father was in tears on the ride home.

Little said he’s seen athletes like Reggie Jackson or Bill Russell tell fans to “get the hell out of my way.” He’s seen the pain on the faces of fans who are ignored by their favorite players. It’s his role to make up for them, he says, and be the guy anyone can approach.

“It helps me know I’m making a difference,” Little said. “Changing lives, for me, is what makes a difference.”

His ability to connect with people is what made Little the choice for Chancellor Kent Syverud to help guide current vice president and chief facilities officer Pete Sala when he was named interim athletic director in March.

Sala said he’d often ask Little to speak to a student-athlete before bringing them to him for a difficult conversation.

Little offers the perspective few others can — he’s been in an SU student-athlete’s shoes, and he’s achieved at the highest level. It gives him instant credibility, Sala said.

When Mark Coyle took over as athletic director in July, one of the first people he met with was Little. The two grabbed a slice of pizza at Varsity and chatted in a booth, sitting a few inches from a portrait of Little that hangs on the wall.

When Coyle first started, people both inside and outside the school were coming at him with requests and ideas.

“What I’ve found to be a great help to me is that (Floyd) has this ability to slow everything down and make it manageable,” Coyle said, “and then he’s on to the next thing.”

Little has had three jobs in his lifetime: a professional football player, a car dealer and a special assistant to the athletic director at Syracuse University. The last one, his current job, is his favorite, he said.

On Nov. 14, Little will be honored for what led to his first job when his statue is unveiled at Plaza 44 outside the Ensley Athletic Center. Little’s statue will stand next to monuments for Ernie Davis and Jim Brown.

Not only has Little been an athlete, he’s recognized as one of the best.

“No one to learn from better than a Hall of Famer,” said SU commit Moe Neal, who met with Little in September.

And when one recruit after another comes to sit opposite him in his office, Little’s voice, as low and raspy as it is, always commands respect.

When those recruits and their parents listen to Little’s pitch, they stand up and walk out the door. Little hears a conversation as they make their way down the hallway.

“You know where you’re going, don’t you?” he hears the parent tell the kid.

“These are some of the best times of my life,” Little said. “I think I’m using the kids to keep me young.”

Published on October 4, 2015 at 8:44 pm

Contact Brett: blsamuel@syr.edu | @Brett_Samuels27