Louisville football's Tobias Little suffers serious knee injury

Jake Lourim | Courier Journal

Tobias Little, an important contributor for the Louisville football team, is likely out for the 2018 season.

The program announced in a release Monday that Little has sustained a knee injury in practice that will "probably" end his season.

Little's injury will test Louisville's depth on offense. He was the team's No. 1 fullback and has also taken some reps carrying the ball. A redshirt sophomore from Atlanta, Little rushed nine times for 27 yards last season.

The Cardinals have struggled to stay healthy in the backfield for more than a year now. Little was the star of the spring, as he moved to running back with several other ball carriers injured. When all four scholarship running backs — Trey Smith, Dae Williams, Malik Staples and Colin Wilson — missed the spring game with injuries, Little was the leading rusher with 13 carries for 77 yards and a touchdown.

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Louisville coach Bobby Petrino said Friday that Little had not carried the ball as much during camp. While co-offensive coordinator Mike Summers talked Saturday about bigger packages to strengthen the run game, Little was still the team's only fullback with meaningful game experience. Redshirt freshman walk-on Isaac Martin, a converted linebacker, is the only other player listed as a fullback on the online roster.

Jake Lourim: 502-582-4168; jlourim@courierjournal.com; Twitter: @jakelourim. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/jakel.