Chris Long (American football)

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Chris Long

Chris Long during his tenure with the Virginia Cavaliers.
No. 72     St. Louis Rams
Defensive end
Personal information
Date of birth: March 28, 1985 (1985-03-28) (age 24)
Place of birth: Santa Monica, California
Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	Weight: 276 lb (125 kg)
Career information
College: Virginia
NFL Draft: 2008 / Round: 1 / Pick: 2
Debuted in 2008 for the St. Louis Rams
Career history
As player: St. Louis Rams (2008-present)
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
2008 All-Rookie Team (Pro Football Writers Association) College awards and honors
Career NFL statistics as of Week 2, 2009
Tackles	51
Sacks	4.0
INTs	0
Stats at NFL.com

Christopher Howard Long (born March 28, 1985 in Santa Monica, California) is an American football defensive end for the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Rams second overall in the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Virginia.

Long is the son of former NFL defensive end and Hall of Famer Howie Long.^[1]

[edit] Early years

Chris Long attended St. Anne's-Belfield School in Charlottesville, Virginia.^[2] As a senior in 2003 he was in on 91 tackles, 23 tackles for a loss, and 15 sacks helping his team to an undefeated record and the state private-school championship. “He was a big gangly kid who had yet to grow into his body,” said John Blake, the St. Anne’s-Belfield coach. “But he jumped in with both feet. When he played tackle, he would drive kids 10 or 15 yards down the field, like he was steering a car.”^[1]

Long had the rare distinction of having his jersey retired at St. Anne's-Belfield School.^[2] He was given a 4-star ranking for college recruiting from Rivals.com, a service that rated him the sixth-best defensive end in the prep ranks.^[3] He played in the 2004 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.^[2]

Long also played basketball, lacrosse, and baseball in high school.^[4]

[edit] College career

Long enrolled at the University of Virginia in 2004 and sought a degree in sociology.^[2] He was a backup on the defensive line, but missed five games due to mononucleosis. Long ended the season with five tackles (two for a loss) and a sack.

As a sophomore in 2005, Long averaged 3.8 tackles per game, leading all Virginia defensive linemen. He totaled 46 tackles, with 10 tackles for a loss and 2 sacks. His 26 quarterback pressures led his team. He also shared the team lead in pass break-ups with seven.

In 2006, Long earned second-team All-ACC honors and was voted team captain. While starting all games, Long recorded 57 tackles, 12 for a loss, and 4 sacks. His 4.8 tackles per game was fourth among ACC defensive lineman. He was also a finalist for the Dudley Award, for the most outstanding player in the state of Virginia and was an All-State selection.

Following his 2007 senior season, Long was selected as a consensus First-team All-American.^[5] His 14 sacks were third in the country with an average of 1.13 sacks per game. Long was fourth nationally in tackling by a defensive lineman, averaging 6.3 tackles per game.^[2] In addition, North Carolina head coach Butch Davis, who coached against Long in North Carolina's ACC match-ups with Virginia, called Long one of the premier defensive lineman in the country.^[6]

Long entered the 2007 season on the watch lists for the Outland Trophy, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Bednarik Trophy, Lombardi Trophy, Hendricks Award and the Lott Trophy.^[2] He finished the season as a finalist for the Lombardi, Lott, and Nagurski Trophys. On December 5, 2007, Long won the 2007 Ted Hendricks Defensive End of the Year Award, given to the top defensive end in the nation. Long garnered more than 60 percent of the votes, the most ever for a winner in the history of the award.^[7] Additionally, Long received a first-place vote and finished 10th in the 2007 Heisman Trophy voting.^[8]

On November 24, 2007, Long's #91 jersey was retired at UVA, making him the first player to have his jersey retired while he was still active.^[9]

[edit] Career statistics

Key: GP - games played; GS - games started; UA - unassisted tackles; AT - assisted tackles; TT - total tackles; T/L - tackles for a loss; PD - passes deflected; Int - interceptions

[edit] Awards and honors

• Second-team All-ACC (2006)
• First-team All-ACC (2007)
• ACC Defensive Player of the Year (2007)
• First-team All-American (2007)
• Ted Hendricks Award (2007)
• Dudley Award (2007)

[edit] Professional career

[edit] Measureables

(* represents NFL Combine) ^[10][11]

At the NFL Combine, Long did not lift the bench-press reps of 225 pounds because of an injured thumb.^[12]
Virginia Pro Day
Bench press: 370 lbs; Squat: 640 lbs; Power clean: 375 lbs^[13]

[edit] St. Louis Rams

Long^[14] was drafted by the St. Louis Rams second overall in the 2008 NFL Draft.^[15] The selection made him just the second son of a Hall of Famer, after Kellen Winslow II, to be drafted in the first round, the fifth such player ever drafted, and one of two such players drafted in 2008 (the other being Matthew Slater).^[16]

Following the draft, Rams head coach Scott Linehan named Long a presumptive starter on defense, a notion that Long rejected and instead felt he needed to earn.^[17] The Rams also announced their plans on using Long as both a linebacker and defensive end to showcase his athleticism;^[18] Long considered such versatility one of his best assets.^[19]

On July 19, 2008, Long agreed to terms on a six-year $56.5 million contract with the Rams with $29 million guaranteed.^[20][21]

On September 14, 2008, Long recorded his first career sack against Eli Manning of the New York Giants. Recorded his first 2-sack games versus the New England Patriots on October 26, 2008. At the end of his 2008 rookie season he was voted All-Rookie by the Pro Football Writers Association. ^[22] Long started 16 games (14 at right DE and 2 at left DE) for the Rams in 2008, recording 4 sacks and leading the team in quarterback pressures.

[edit] Personal

Chris has two younger brothers; one of them, Kyle Long, is a pitcher and first baseman who signed with Florida State University. Kyle has since left FSU for academic reasons.^[23] The other, Howie Long Jr. has signed with the University of Virginia and will play lacrosse as a member of the class of 2013.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Virginia Cavaliers bio
• St. Louis Rams bio