Post by MizzouTiger on Feb 24, 2008 16:11:05 GMT -5
www.kansascity.com/sports/story/502670.html
Virginia’s Long, son of former Raiders great, could be first pick in NFL draft
By RANDY COVITZ
The Kansas City Star
INDIANAPOLIS | His father is a Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive lineman. His younger brother may be the first pick in next spring’s Major League Baseball draft.
But don’t feel sorry for Virginia defensive end Chris Long. He’ll have his moment in the spotlight as well.
“Everybody has a time,” Long said Saturday at the NFL scouting combine, speaking of himself and his brother Kyle, a flame-throwing, high school left-handed pitcher, “and this is our time.”
Chris Long’s time will come in the first round of the NFL draft, when he is expected to be a top-five pick, perhaps even the first overall choice.
Long, one of the premier pass rushers in college football, could go as high as first to Miami, partly because of the connection between Bill Parcells, the Dolphins’ new top executive, and Virginia head coach Al Groh, a longtime assistant to Parcells with the New York Giants and New England Patriots.
“It’s hard to imagine there being a better player at any position than Chris Long,” Groh said last season. “He performs like a star but doesn’t act like a star.”
The farthest Long would fall in the draft likely would be fourth to Oakland, the franchise for which his father, Howie, starred for 13 years, helping the Raiders to a Super Bowl championship.
One of Chris Long’s earliest memories of his father’s NFL career was as a tyke, hiding on the floor of the car and sneaking into the Raiders’ training camp.
“They had rules that families weren’t allowed, and I remember ducking in the car so I could visit my dad,” Long said. “Don’t tell Al Davis that happened …
“To play there would mean the same as playing anywhere else. It would be an opportunity to play in the NFL. I’m not afraid of any situation or any burden that comes with the name. It would be pressure, but I welcome pressure.”
Long, 6-3, 272 pounds, tied for third in the nation with 14 sacks last season, was a first-team All-American and ACC Defensive Player of the Year. In addition, 28 percent of his tackles were behind the line of scrimmage.
“The biggest thing about Chris Long is his motor,” said Maryland guard Andrew Crummey. “He has great skill, but the fact he goes hard the entire play, every single play. You don’t see that very often. And that’s tough to prepare for. That’s what makes him so effective throughout the game.”
Long’s impact went beyond mere sacks.
•He intercepted a pass and returned it 25 yards to set up the game-winning field goal in a 22-20 win at North Carolina on Sept. 15
•He blocked a field goal in Virginia’s 23-21 win at Middle Tennessee.
•His sack in the end zone for a safety helped produce an 18-17 win at Maryland.
“My dad taught me to work hard and be the same guy every day,” Long said. “I don’t think of myself as doing anything extraordinary. I think that’s just the way football is supposed to be played, at a high speed. I’m not a guy who does things half-speed well.
“The goal is you want to jump off the screen when people watch film of you. All 330 guys who are here jump off the screen. That’s why they’re here. The goal is to adjust to the speed at the next level and surpass it.”
At Virginia — where his No. 91 was retired at the end of his senior season — Long played a defensive end spot in a 3-4 front. But he believes he’s versatile enough to play an end in a 4-3 or an end or an outside linebacker spot in a 3-4.
Two years ago, Mario Williams of North Carolina State, also a hybrid defensive end/linebacker was taken by Houston with the first overall pick. Williams struggled as a rookie, making just 4.5 sacks before blossoming last season with 14 sacks.
“When you’re picked No. 1 as Mario Williams was, people don’t have patience,” Long said. “When you don’t touch the ball on a regular basis, and you’re playing a position like his, the only number they look at is sacks.
“This year, the sacks started coming for Mario Williams, but what people don’t realize is he was a pretty darn good football player from the start, and now his numbers are just better.”
Just imagine what life would be like in the Long household if both Chris and Kyle — who has committed to Florida State’s baseball program — became the first brothers to be drafted No. 1 in the same year in two different sports.
“I think my parents were keeping their fingers crossed that he would not play football,” Long said of Kyle. “He doesn’t have to get hit playing baseball, he’s throwing 96 mph, he’s a lefty. It seems like a no-brainer to me. I just hope I can live in his condo if I fall on hard times or something.
“To be (the first overall pick), you have to work even harder and show up with more humility because people will be looking at you. But wherever I go, I won’t change. I’ll be the same guy.”
Virginia’s Long, son of former Raiders great, could be first pick in NFL draft
By RANDY COVITZ
The Kansas City Star
INDIANAPOLIS | His father is a Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive lineman. His younger brother may be the first pick in next spring’s Major League Baseball draft.
But don’t feel sorry for Virginia defensive end Chris Long. He’ll have his moment in the spotlight as well.
“Everybody has a time,” Long said Saturday at the NFL scouting combine, speaking of himself and his brother Kyle, a flame-throwing, high school left-handed pitcher, “and this is our time.”
Chris Long’s time will come in the first round of the NFL draft, when he is expected to be a top-five pick, perhaps even the first overall choice.
Long, one of the premier pass rushers in college football, could go as high as first to Miami, partly because of the connection between Bill Parcells, the Dolphins’ new top executive, and Virginia head coach Al Groh, a longtime assistant to Parcells with the New York Giants and New England Patriots.
“It’s hard to imagine there being a better player at any position than Chris Long,” Groh said last season. “He performs like a star but doesn’t act like a star.”
The farthest Long would fall in the draft likely would be fourth to Oakland, the franchise for which his father, Howie, starred for 13 years, helping the Raiders to a Super Bowl championship.
One of Chris Long’s earliest memories of his father’s NFL career was as a tyke, hiding on the floor of the car and sneaking into the Raiders’ training camp.
“They had rules that families weren’t allowed, and I remember ducking in the car so I could visit my dad,” Long said. “Don’t tell Al Davis that happened …
“To play there would mean the same as playing anywhere else. It would be an opportunity to play in the NFL. I’m not afraid of any situation or any burden that comes with the name. It would be pressure, but I welcome pressure.”
Long, 6-3, 272 pounds, tied for third in the nation with 14 sacks last season, was a first-team All-American and ACC Defensive Player of the Year. In addition, 28 percent of his tackles were behind the line of scrimmage.
“The biggest thing about Chris Long is his motor,” said Maryland guard Andrew Crummey. “He has great skill, but the fact he goes hard the entire play, every single play. You don’t see that very often. And that’s tough to prepare for. That’s what makes him so effective throughout the game.”
Long’s impact went beyond mere sacks.
•He intercepted a pass and returned it 25 yards to set up the game-winning field goal in a 22-20 win at North Carolina on Sept. 15
•He blocked a field goal in Virginia’s 23-21 win at Middle Tennessee.
•His sack in the end zone for a safety helped produce an 18-17 win at Maryland.
“My dad taught me to work hard and be the same guy every day,” Long said. “I don’t think of myself as doing anything extraordinary. I think that’s just the way football is supposed to be played, at a high speed. I’m not a guy who does things half-speed well.
“The goal is you want to jump off the screen when people watch film of you. All 330 guys who are here jump off the screen. That’s why they’re here. The goal is to adjust to the speed at the next level and surpass it.”
At Virginia — where his No. 91 was retired at the end of his senior season — Long played a defensive end spot in a 3-4 front. But he believes he’s versatile enough to play an end in a 4-3 or an end or an outside linebacker spot in a 3-4.
Two years ago, Mario Williams of North Carolina State, also a hybrid defensive end/linebacker was taken by Houston with the first overall pick. Williams struggled as a rookie, making just 4.5 sacks before blossoming last season with 14 sacks.
“When you’re picked No. 1 as Mario Williams was, people don’t have patience,” Long said. “When you don’t touch the ball on a regular basis, and you’re playing a position like his, the only number they look at is sacks.
“This year, the sacks started coming for Mario Williams, but what people don’t realize is he was a pretty darn good football player from the start, and now his numbers are just better.”
Just imagine what life would be like in the Long household if both Chris and Kyle — who has committed to Florida State’s baseball program — became the first brothers to be drafted No. 1 in the same year in two different sports.
“I think my parents were keeping their fingers crossed that he would not play football,” Long said of Kyle. “He doesn’t have to get hit playing baseball, he’s throwing 96 mph, he’s a lefty. It seems like a no-brainer to me. I just hope I can live in his condo if I fall on hard times or something.
“To be (the first overall pick), you have to work even harder and show up with more humility because people will be looking at you. But wherever I go, I won’t change. I’ll be the same guy.”