Nov. 21, 2007

By Bill Hass
theACC.com

GREENSBORO, N.C. - No one who has seen Virginia's Chris Long play would doubt his intensity and passion for football.

But just in case further proof is needed, just watch him before practice starts.

"Whenever we form the stretch lines to begin practice," said Cavaliers coach Al Groh, "he's the most enthusiastic player on the team about stretching. That's just how much he loves every phase of it. He gets it going right away just as he does during the course of practice and games."

Long readily admits he can't wait to get on the field for practice or a game.

"Shoot, one thing we always say in our locker room is that if you can't get up for this, you don't have a pulse," said the Cavaliers' senior defensive end. "Football is just such an emotional game and I love it very much. You only get so many opportunities to play in these big games. I think that's definitely true that when I go out to stretch, when I do anything on game day, I'm charged up.

"You either have it (passion) or you don't. I don't feel it's something you can contrive. But you've got to back it up with your play. It's easy to be excited and go out there and play football with this great group of guys we have in our locker room."

You can imagine how charged up Long will be at noon Saturday when Virginia meets Virginia Tech to determine the ACC's Coastal Division champion and a berth in the ACC Championship Game on Dec. 1. He expects a lot of hard hitting.

"You just have to be ready to be physical," he said. "Their offense prides itself on being physical, on running the ball. And no matter who plays, the quarterback (Tyrod Taylor and Sean Glennon will alternate) is a threat.

"I've got to be on my game because I'm playing a great offensive tackle in Duane Brown (a senior lining up against him for the third year). We all have challenges that we're going to have to step up and meet, just like any other game."

Virginia clawed its way to this point after an awful start, a 23-3 opening loss at Wyoming. Long said the disappointment of that game didn't deter the team from its mission.

"We got back off the plane ride and we were crushed," he said. "We felt terrible about it, but that's OK, that means you care. Just seeing the fact the guys were really hurt by what happened showed me how much this team cared.

"We said to each other, `We still have the same goals, we're 0-0 in the ACC and we have an opportunity in front of us. There're two things we can do - we can bury our heads in the sand or we can be successful. Which one is it going to be?' To a man, everybody was still excited."

Since then, the Cavs have won nine of 10 games, setting an NCAA record by winning three games by one point, not to mention two others by two points and another by five points. The only game in which they had any breathing room was their last one, a 48-0 demolition of Miami.

"You get wound pretty tight anyway on game days," Long said, "and to be in a close ball game, it can mess with you. But the more we get in those ball games, the less nervous we are.

"It is a skill, winning close ball games. Make no mistake, football games are difficult to win and even when you're up big it's still nerve-wracking out there."

Long's impact on Virginia's season has been enormous. He leads the league in sacks and ranks second in tackles for loss. Virginia moves him around, particularly on third-and-long passing situations, to keep opponents from zeroing in on him or running too many plays away from him. Concentrate on him too much and that frees up players like linebacker John Copper and end Jeffrey Fitzgerald to make big plays.

Accolades are plentiful from opposing coaches.

"I really like Chris," said Miami coach Randy Shannon. "He plays the game well, he's fast, he plays with tenacity and he tries to make plays all the time. In pass rush situations, he gets after it."

N.C. State's Tom O'Brien admires Long's explosive power and the way he comes in low off the ball.

"And they move him around," O'Brien said. "Basically you know where he is on first and second down and they move him around on the third down package. You have to pay special attention to him, especially in a pass-rushing situation and in a long-yardage situation. I think people have tried to chip on him or double him; that's the best thing you can do."

And even then it doesn't always work. Long has good technique but he also never quits on a play. Some of his sacks happen because he's so relentless against blockers that the quarterback will wind up coming to him.

"For the most part, my adrenaline just carries me through everything I do on a Saturday," he said. "I pride myself on not coming out of a game and being in superior physical shape. I have tried to work very hard to get to that point to where I don't get tired. Fatigue will make anybody look bad.

"I just try to outwork people because I don't feel like I have all the physical gifts. I've been blessed with some attributes, but one thing you can control is how hard you work."

Long usually has a plan to get to the quarterback. Against Maryland, he knew exactly what he wanted to do on a particular play, then he beat the first lineman, blew past another blocker who couldn't reach him and nailed quarterback Chris Turner for a safety before Turner could even look up.

But that play, Long said, was an exception.

"You just kind of let instincts take over once the ball is snapped," he said. "You might have somewhat of a plan, at least pass-rushing, but your plan is going to go out the window at least 90 percent of the time.

"You can study film and you can study tendencies and you can be on top of your game, but at some point you have to be instinctive. If you combine a healthy understanding of the opponent with a sense of just being instinctive, then you can be successful."

This is not the first time Groh has coached a player in Long's mold. When he was an assistant coach at North Carolina, he had another special player - a fellow by the name of Lawrence Taylor.

"I've coached one before who was in that category, who found a way to overcome whatever the opponents tried to do to stop him," Groh said. "If that just became overwhelming it usually freed up guys along the front line to be equally successful."

While Long has had a terrific career, he wasn't an instant success in college. In high school he played on the offensive and defensive lines and used his athletic ability (he played football, basketball, baseball and lacrosse) and sheer effort to dominate opponents. When he got to Virginia, he found that other players were more advanced in their development and his freshman season was limited to six games.

Since then, he has refined his technique and his sacks have gone up from two as a sophomore to five as a junior and 12 this year. Some of that has come from working with his father, Howie Long, a member of the NFL Hall of Fame and two-time Defensive Player of the Year in his 13-year career.

N.C. State's O'Brien said Long looks like "a miniature version of the way his dad used to play."

Chris Long said that's not exactly the case, that Howie Long has told him their styles are a bit different. But he doesn't hesitate to consult his dad.

"He never pushed me in the direction of playing football," Long said. "I played four sports in high school, so it wasn't until the middle of my high school career that I realized I had an opportunity to be pretty good at football.

"When I made that decision, my dad said basically to me that `If you want help, you come to me for help. If this is going to be a decision you're going to make to the University of Virginia, you've got to agree to do it 110 percent. I'm here for you, but you've got to approach me. I'm not going to force it on you.'"

And Long has done just that with his dad.

"I approach him a lot," he said, "not just for technique, but he's kind of like a psychologist for me sometimes. I talk to my dad two or three times a day. He's like a coach, a friend, a role model and a psychiatrist all rolled into one. He's a big multi-tasker. There're definitely things he can offer to me on a weekly basis that will help me get better as a player."

Long said he has gotten used to watching his dad on the Fox network Sunday pre-game and post-game NFL shows. Every once in awhile, he will be startled by Howie's voice coming out of nowhere.

"I'll just be sitting there on a Wednesday night and I'm getting ready for bed and I'll hear my dad's voice," Chris said. "I'm like, `Get out of my apartment, where are you?' I'll go out in the living room and he'll be on a commercial. It's pretty normal to me. He's doing his thing."

Groh said Long's game continues to get better as he gains a greater understanding of what opponents are trying to do in certain situations.

"It would be accurate to say that while he got off to a great start and a fast start this year and played well early," Groh said, "he has continued to improve during the course of the season. His game is an ever-improving one, as good as it might already be at this particular stage."

But the results on the field aren't the only important contribution Long makes to the Cavaliers. His energy on the field spills over to the sidelines and the locker room.

"Certainly, without his plays our team would not have been as good," Groh said, "but without his personality and leadership we certainly wouldn't have been as good, either. He's a wonderful, wonderful ambassador not only for the University of Virginia but for college football in general."

Long's personal drive for success and passion for winning translate into being animated and outgoing, which has encouraged other players to express their enthusiasm.

"Just by being who he is, it's contagious," Groh said. "As a result, I would say this team probably has a more outgoing personality collectively than some of its predecessors."

Long said it's a matter of the seniors showing the other players the way to do things.

"Sometimes it's our job to kind of remind people of things - and that might be stated lightly - on the sidelines," he said. "Mostly we just keep the chatter up and I think that helps to constantly remind each other that we're there for each other and we've been in these situations before."

And now the Cavs find themselves in one of the two situations they've been playing for this year. But to reach the second one, they have to be successful in the first one this weekend.

"The ACC championship would mean the world to me," Long said. "It would probably be the best thing that ever happened to me. I think I speak for all of us when I say that.

"We all want this very badly. But we realize we have to take it one week at a time and go out and focus on one objective - how are we going to beat Virginia Tech. If you do that, then you're in the game."

And that's no stretch.

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Bill Hass is a long-time observer of ACC sports. His career at the Greensboro News & Record spanned 36 years, from 1969 until his retirement in March, 2006. He is now writing "Bill Hass on the ACC" for theACC.com. His weekly columns will keep fans plugged in to the Atlantic Coast Conference.

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