2007 College Football Preview

Kyle Green | The Roanoke Times

There's little doubt about Virginia senior defensive end Chris Long's abilities now. | See a closeup

Virginia

• Experience brings excitement
• Chris Long: Casting his own shadow
• Virginia's schedule

Virginia Tech

• Seniors eye longtime goal
• Helping heal thy brother
• Bud fosters defense's thump
• Virginia Tech's schedule

Other stories

• Ferrum: Panthers look to regain 2005 form | Ferrum at a glance
• VMI: More the merrier for VMI | VMI at a glance
• Washington & Lee: Generals eyeing return to top of ODAC | W&L at a glance
• Southern Virginia University: Youth is name of game for Knights | SVU at a glance

The ACC

• Changes galore for Hurricanes, Seminoles
• ACC predicted order of finish
• 10 ACC games to watch

Graphics

• Timesland players now likely college starters

One of the nicer compliments that Chris Long could have received, unintended though it might have been, came when his younger brother was rated the No. 1 junior football prospect in Virginia.

Even when he entered college as the oldest of Howie Long’s three sons, Chris was only No. 3 on The Roanoke Times list.

Never mind that middle son Kyle Long has committed to Florida State for baseball and probably will not play football in college. If you’re Howie Long’s son and Chris Long’s brother, that must be special.

For that, Chris Long is to be commended because there were plenty of doubters in September 2002, when Virginia offered him a scholarship early in his junior year while at St. Anne’s-Belfield in Charlottesville.

Even then, Long had good size and athletic ability that also had been manifested on the baseball diamond, but St. Anne’s-Belfield was a private school, so what kind of competition would he be facing? And, what if his last name hadn’t been Long?

“For every one person who believed in me, there were seven or eight who [didn’t],” said Long at the ACC Football Kickoff in Pinehurst, N.C. “Everybody has a question. Till you step on campus and you see what college football is like, you don’t know. You might think you know, but you don’t.”

John Blake, the head coach at St. Anne’s-Belfield, thought he knew.

Blake had coached at Western Albemarle, a respectable Group AA program, before going to STAB. He had coached Division I-A prospects, most notably Billy Baber, a tight end who caught more than 50 passes for UVa from 1997-2000 and later played for the Kansas City Chiefs.

“I think there’s a perception that public-school people have about private-school football,” Blake said. “Having coached in both, there are more kids in the public schools who are talented, but you’ve also got to remember that there are more kids.

“I tell people all the time, What Chris Long has done for private-school football or even just high school football in Central Virginia, is something that we’re going to be seeing for some time.”

Retired North Cross coach Jim Muscaro, whose teams faced STAB on an annual basis, said Long had the quickest first step he had ever seen.

“And still does,” Muscaro said. “I was constantly trying to convince the refs that he was offsides.”

Long, a 6-foot-4, 279-pound defensive end, enters his fourth year with 24 tackles for loss and an astounding 47 quarterback hurries, but he has recorded only seven sacks.

He has never been a first-team All-ACC selection, although he has made the All-ACC second team and was a preseason all-conference choice this year. There seems to be little doubt that he will be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft.

“Long is college football’s premier defensive talent and everything NFL scouts look for while searching for the next perennial Pro Bowl defensive end,” draft analyst Todd McShay wrote for ESPN.com.

“His combination of size, power, quickness and tenacity should land him a spot on every All-America team in existence and make him a top-five pick in the 2008 draft.”

An entire generation of football fans has come of age since Howie Long retired in 1993 and he may be better known to younger audiences as a Fox Sports commentator since 1994.

Howie Long, listed at 6-5 and 275 pounds during his playing days, spent 13 years with the Raiders organization in Oakland and Los Angeles and was credited with 93 sacks, not counting 8 1/2 in his first year, when sacks were not an official statistic. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000.

If Chris Long were to be drafted in the first round, he would surpass his “Pops,” as he calls Howie. The older Long was a second-round pick out of Villanova, now a Division I-AA program.

Howie Long, referred to as Howard at least once in Villanova’s media guide, grew up in Massachusetts, but he and his wife, Diane Long, were looking for the ideal place to raise their family following his retirement in 1994 and settled on Charlottesville. It was years before the effect of that decision was felt on UVa football.

At 8, Chris was old enough to understand football when his father wrapped up his career with the Raiders, “but I wasn’t really into it,” he said. “I remember I was at a friend’s house one time, playing NHL Hockey or Sega Genesis, and somebody said, 'Hey, you want to watch your dad in the AFC championship game?’ I was like, 'Uh, yeah, that would be all right.’ It wasn’t a priority.”

Chris also played lacrosse at STAB, as does his youngest brother, 6-2, 195-pound Howie Jr., who was the quarterback on STAB’s state championship team last year as a sophomore but has been projected as a Division I lacrosse recruit.

“It’s crazy, but I might be the worst athlete in my family,” said Chris, noting that his mother plays a mean game of tennis.

Howie Sr. helps with the STAB football team when he can, but he’s neither overbearing nor overindulgent. His travel plans prevented him from being interviewed for this story.

“He’s fabulous,” Blake said. “He doesn’t shy away from people who ask for an autograph. He helps out with our program as much as he can. He’s hands-on, but he’s a parent, too. He wants to watch his sons play. That’s a great joy for him and it’s sad when he can’t be there. I’m more privy to his plans than most people and I know he does everything possible to be there for his kids.”

It would be a monumental feat for Chris to match his father’s accomplishments, but he didn’t get where he is today because of his last name.

“That’s the other stigma,” Blake said. “Let’s face it, there are a lot of private-school kids who have [famous] parents and everybody thinks, because of that, they’re getting something more than they should. I’m glad he’s proven that theory wrong.”

When Kyle Long committed to Florida State for baseball, it raised questions about the Long family’s relationship with the Virginia football program and whether there might be some underlying disenchantment with the team’s performance or its 3-4 defensive scheme.

Chris Long scoffs at that, saying, “That’s [the 3-4] made me the best player I can be.”

As for his happiness, Long is the ex-officio “mayor of Charlottesville,” as teammate Clint Sintim puts it.

“I’m the happiest kid in the world at Virginia,” Long said. “I love the college, I’ve loved my experience, I love my teammates. I have nothing to complain about.”

But if there are rumors making the rounds, rest assured he knows about them.

“A lot of people say, 'Don’t read, stay off the message boards,’ but I’m on that stuff non-stop,” Long said. “I read newspapers. I read magazines. I’ve always got my eyes open. I check everything. I want to be — what’s the word — omniscient?’

“If somebody wants to say, 'You’re only worth something because of your dad,’ I’m going to use that as motivation.”

He needn’t hold his breath till he hears that.