By Jim Thomas
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
04/28/2008
Chris Long humbly, respectfully — yet clearly — let it be known Sunday that he intends to be his own man in the National Football League.
Not Howie Long's son. But Chris Long, defensive end for the St. Louis Rams.
When asked about his jersey number preference with the Rams, Long replied:
"I hope that I can just make the number worth something. Obviously, my college number (91), Leonard (Little) has it. That's in the past. It's a new chapter in my life, and just as I changed my number in college, I'm going to wear a new number here."
Why not No. 75, which was his Hall of Fame father's number with the Oakland Raiders? Would that be a distraction?
"Yeah, it would, to be honest," Long said. "I think that I'm cool with the pressure. But there's no need to shovel it on myself."
Being the son of a Hall of Famer brings one set of expectations. Being the No. 2 overall pick in the 2008 NFL draft brings another.
Long didn't necessarily have those kinds of pressures when he decided to attend the University of Virginia in his hometown of Charlottesville.
"I committed early just to kind of get the process over," Long said Sunday, at his introductory news conference in St. Louis. "I'm not one for the process. I kind of like to get to work. ... I committed my junior year (of high school) to Virginia."
Even with his famous pedigree, Long said he wasn't highly recruited coming out of high school.
"I don't think people thought I was very good," Long said.
Once at Virginia, it wasn't necessarily that Long was trying to show other colleges that they made a mistake in the recruiting process. But ...
"I just tried to get the people that I thought didn't pay much attention to me to respect me," he said. "I think a lot of people looked at me for my last name, and not who I was. I was just happy to be able to forge a great career at UVA with a bunch of great teammates. Everything happens for a reason."
And look at him now. Only Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long — no relation — went ahead of him in the draft.
On Sunday at Rams Park, father Howie Long was nowhere to be found. Chris Long seems determined to stand on his own in the National Football League.
He met the St. Louis media Sunday afternoon running on fumes, with his new Rams cap pulled down low, but his excitement still bubbling over this new step in his life.
"It's been a long weekend, and the God's honest truth is that I wouldn't rather be anywhere but St. Louis," he said. "That's where I was hoping to go. I just want to thank the entire Rams organization for believing in me and picking me. I intend upon proving that I am worth the pick, if that's possible.
"I'm really excited to work for Coach (Scott) Linehan and the entire organization. I look forward to getting to know the people in the city as well. I can't wait to play football and get back to what I do best. And that's not being an NFL draft prospect. It's being a football player."
As Long spoke, it was nearly 24 hours since the Rams selected him over Louisiana State defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey. Long said he had yet to sleep.
"It's been crazy," he said. "We flew out early (Sunday) morning from New York City. I got a chance to spend time with my family and friends that came to New York, and that was a lot of fun."
Along the way, he took part in "thousands" of interviews.
"There has been a lot of questions, and a lot of the same answers," he said. "But now I can start telling everyone the truth, which is I want to be a Ram, and it couldn't have gone any better this weekend."
In the midst of all this, Long received an unexpected "welcome to St. Louis" phone call from quarterback Marc Bulger on Saturday.
"It was really encouraging just to hear how cool he was," Long said. "He was like, 'Hey, you can crash at my place if you need a place to stay in the meantime. Any question you have, I can answer them.'"
On the other side of the ball, Long also received a call from defensive tackle La'Roi Glover.
"He's someone that I grew up watching back when I was a kid," Long said. "Now, I'm going to hopefully be able to learn a lot from him."
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
04/28/2008
Chris Long humbly, respectfully — yet clearly — let it be known Sunday that he intends to be his own man in the National Football League.
Not Howie Long's son. But Chris Long, defensive end for the St. Louis Rams.
When asked about his jersey number preference with the Rams, Long replied:
"I hope that I can just make the number worth something. Obviously, my college number (91), Leonard (Little) has it. That's in the past. It's a new chapter in my life, and just as I changed my number in college, I'm going to wear a new number here."
Why not No. 75, which was his Hall of Fame father's number with the Oakland Raiders? Would that be a distraction?
"Yeah, it would, to be honest," Long said. "I think that I'm cool with the pressure. But there's no need to shovel it on myself."
Being the son of a Hall of Famer brings one set of expectations. Being the No. 2 overall pick in the 2008 NFL draft brings another.
Long didn't necessarily have those kinds of pressures when he decided to attend the University of Virginia in his hometown of Charlottesville.
"I committed early just to kind of get the process over," Long said Sunday, at his introductory news conference in St. Louis. "I'm not one for the process. I kind of like to get to work. ... I committed my junior year (of high school) to Virginia."
Even with his famous pedigree, Long said he wasn't highly recruited coming out of high school.
"I don't think people thought I was very good," Long said.
Once at Virginia, it wasn't necessarily that Long was trying to show other colleges that they made a mistake in the recruiting process. But ...
"I just tried to get the people that I thought didn't pay much attention to me to respect me," he said. "I think a lot of people looked at me for my last name, and not who I was. I was just happy to be able to forge a great career at UVA with a bunch of great teammates. Everything happens for a reason."
And look at him now. Only Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long — no relation — went ahead of him in the draft.
On Sunday at Rams Park, father Howie Long was nowhere to be found. Chris Long seems determined to stand on his own in the National Football League.
He met the St. Louis media Sunday afternoon running on fumes, with his new Rams cap pulled down low, but his excitement still bubbling over this new step in his life.
"It's been a long weekend, and the God's honest truth is that I wouldn't rather be anywhere but St. Louis," he said. "That's where I was hoping to go. I just want to thank the entire Rams organization for believing in me and picking me. I intend upon proving that I am worth the pick, if that's possible.
"I'm really excited to work for Coach (Scott) Linehan and the entire organization. I look forward to getting to know the people in the city as well. I can't wait to play football and get back to what I do best. And that's not being an NFL draft prospect. It's being a football player."
As Long spoke, it was nearly 24 hours since the Rams selected him over Louisiana State defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey. Long said he had yet to sleep.
"It's been crazy," he said. "We flew out early (Sunday) morning from New York City. I got a chance to spend time with my family and friends that came to New York, and that was a lot of fun."
Along the way, he took part in "thousands" of interviews.
"There has been a lot of questions, and a lot of the same answers," he said. "But now I can start telling everyone the truth, which is I want to be a Ram, and it couldn't have gone any better this weekend."
In the midst of all this, Long received an unexpected "welcome to St. Louis" phone call from quarterback Marc Bulger on Saturday.
"It was really encouraging just to hear how cool he was," Long said. "He was like, 'Hey, you can crash at my place if you need a place to stay in the meantime. Any question you have, I can answer them.'"
On the other side of the ball, Long also received a call from defensive tackle La'Roi Glover.
"He's someone that I grew up watching back when I was a kid," Long said. "Now, I'm going to hopefully be able to learn a lot from him."
