Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
WVU’s Long About to Realize Lifelong NFL Dream
April 24, 2019 12:18 PM | Football
|
NFL Draft TV Schedule Thursday, April 25: 8:00 p.m. EDT NFL Draft, Round 1 Friday, April 26: 7:00 p.m. EDT NFL Draft, Rounds 2-3 Saturday, April 27: Noon EDT NFL Draft, Rounds 4-7 |
Long isn't expected to be picked on Thursday night, at least not the David Long from West Virginia (Michigan cornerback David Long is projected to be a second-round pick), but he should hear his name called before the event ends late Saturday afternoon.
The Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and Associated Press second-team All-American had one of the most disruptive seasons ever put forth by a Mountaineer player. The Cincinnati resident produced eight sacks, 19 tackles for losses and averaged 9.3 tackles per game during his junior season in 2018.
Long's three-year WVU career, which included an abbreviated nine-game season in 2017, saw the 5-foot-11, 227-pounder register 252 tackles, 40 tackles for losses, 14 sacks, 10 pass breakups and two forced fumbles during his 34 games wearing the Gold and Blue.
He tallied a season-high 18 tackles and a school-record seven tackles for losses against Oklahoma State in 2017, and he had four tackles for loss and three sacks in last year's TCU victory. He lists those as his two best performances as a Mountaineer.
For those who watch film, what Long has done on the football field is impossible to overlook.
"If you can play football you can play football, no matter your height or weight or whatever," Long said recently.
Ten years ago, smaller linebackers such as David Long would have probably had to go the free agent route to make an NFL team because the game was much more conducive to having bigger players with brute force.
But the spread game now popular in college has made its way to the pros and smaller, athletic defenders have become more coveted. Many teams are projecting Long as an inside linebacker, which demonstrates how much the game is changing.
"I've heard throughout this process how much the game has changed to more fast guys and not prototypical linebackers as far as 6-4, big-bodied guys. It's more like 6-foot, fast, all-around-type players and that fits me," Long said. "So I'm glad it's changing.
"Getting in there playing with the big guys, I feel like anywhere they put me I can excel because of the type of player I am," he added. "I'm fast enough to go on the outside and physical and fast enough to play on the inside."
The two players Long said the scouts bring up most when evaluating him are San Francisco 49ers outside linebacker Kwon Alexander and Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker Mark Barron.
"They've seen my film and I feel like my film speaks for itself, but (the scouts) don't communicate a lot of that stuff to me. I guess they don't want to boost my head," Long joked.
Since the Senior Bowl and the NFL Draft Combine in Indianapolis, Long said he's spoken to all 32 NFL teams at least formally or informally, including a lengthy discussion with Steelers linebacker coach Jerry Olsavsky following West Virginia's Pro Day workouts last month.
Long took part in a lot of the Pro Day drills inside the Caperton Indoor Practice Facility that morning despite dealing with a high ankle sprain that he sustained in the Senior Bowl. He did not do any of the running drills and none of those are listed on his draft profile on NFL.com, but it's safe to say he is one of the fastest linebackers in this year's draft class.
His draft profile cited his instant play recognition, exceptional change of direction, ability to wash down blocks and his knack for tracking down quarterbacks when he blitzes as his primary strengths.
His weaknesses include his size, of course, his freelancing nature which sometimes gets him out of position within the defense and his poor pursuit angles that have occasionally led to missed tackles and big plays.
However, one unnamed NFL executive said he would rather have David Long than Michigan's projected first-rounder Devin Bush for a round or two discount.
"They have about the same size, but Long is more productive and maybe less prone to injury," he said.
The NFL website gave Long a 5.47 grading, which equates to about a fourth-round choice. His grade was actually the second-highest of the six West Virginia players expected to go in this year's draft behind offensive tackle Yodny Cajuste's 5.59 rating, which projects to about a third-round pick.
Wide receiver Gary Jennings Jr. was rated 5.46, quarterback Will Grier 5.43, wide receiver David Sills V 5.42 and tight end Trevon Wesco 5.35, which means at least six players are going to hear their names called sometime this weekend.
That would equal the 1999 Mountaineer draft class for the most ever since the event was pared to seven rounds in the mid-1990s. In 1999, WVU had three second-round picks, two third-rounders and a fourth-rounder and four of the six played at least five years in the league.
Eight players were taken off West Virginia's 1988 Fiesta Bowl team, but five of the eight were selected in rounds eight or lower.
West Virginia's digital media team will be at four different viewing parties this weekend to post videos and get immediate reaction when the Mountaineer players hear their names called. Those sites include Will Grier's watch party in Charlotte, Gary Jennings Jr.'s watch party in Stafford, Virginia, David Sills V's watch party in Wilmington, Delaware, and Trevon Wesco's watch party in Martinsburg.Grier's name has been mentioned all over the place, including New England, which has the No. 32 pick in the first round.
Other teams reported to be showing interest in the WVU quarterback include the New York Giants, who have three picks in the top 37, and his hometown Carolina Panthers, who have the 16thchoice in the first round and the No. 47 pick in the second round.
The New Orleans Saints had every member of its coaching staff in Morgantown to watch Grier work out on Pro Day. The Saints have the 30thpick in the first round and the 57thpick in the second round.
The draft will begin Thursday night at 8 p.m. and the entire first round will be televised on ABC, ESPN, NFL Network and ESPN Deportes.
Rounds two and three on Friday will begin at 7 p.m. and will be televised on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, NFL Network and ESPN Deportes and the final four rounds on Saturday will begin at noon on the same networks.
"It's definitely exciting for a kid like me being so close to my dreams," Long said. "I've enjoyed the process."
Long, who remained in Morgantown to train with WVU strength and conditioning coach Mike Joseph, said he will be watching this year's draft with his family in Atlanta.
Players Mentioned
OL
/ Football
QB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
LB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
TE/FB
/ FootballRich Rodriguez | Dec. 3
Wednesday, December 03
Reid Carrico | Nov. 29
Saturday, November 29
Jeff Weimer | Nov. 29
Saturday, November 29
Rich Rodriguez | Nov. 29
Saturday, November 29
