Joseph R. LongWayne State University Athletics - 2011 Football Roster
/ref> (born July 27, 1989) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was an

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). Long attended

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...

in Michigan and joined the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

as a free agent as he went undrafted in the

2012 NFL draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...

. His brother is former offensive tackle

Jake Long Jake Edward Long (born May 9, 1985) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines, twice earning consensus All-Ameri ...

. Long attended

Lapeer East High School Lapeer East High School was a public high school located in Lapeer, Michigan Lapeer ( ') is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is the county seat of Lapeer County. As of the 2020 census, the city population was . Most of the city was inc ...

Lapeer, Michigan Lapeer ( ') is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is the county seat of Lapeer County. As of the 2020 census, the city population was . Most of the city was incorporated from land that was formerly in Lapeer Township, though portions were ...

, where he played in the 2007 Michigan High School Football Coaches Association All-Star game which earned him a spot on the Second-team All-Flint Metro League and honorable mention AP Class A All-State honors. Long also was a

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player and was involved in track while in high school. At

, Following his freshman season in which he earned All-GLIAC Honorable Mention Team and also voted WSU's Co-Offensive Rookie of the Year. Following his junior season, Long was named to the D2Football.com Honorable Mention All-America team and selected to the Hansen's Football Gazette All-Region Third-team. Following his senior season, he received the 2011 Gene Upshaw Award as the top Division II lineman. He was the GLIAC Offensive Lineman of the Year also his senior season. He also was a member of the Associated Press Little All-America First-team in his senior season. He blocked for three running backs (including former

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

running back Joique Bell) that rushed for 1,000 yard seasons during his time at Wayne State University. Long has also played for the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

Early life

A 2007 graduate of

, Long played in the 2007 Michigan High School Football Coaches Association All-Star game which earned him a spot on the Second-team All-Flint Metro League and honorable mention AP Class A All-State honors. He also participated in basketball and track for the Eagles which he served as a team captain in both football and basketball. Long also played

hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...

as a freshman.

College career

In 2007 season, Long dressed for the five home games and the game at St. Joseph's. In 2008 season, he started all 11 games at

left tackle A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and Defensive tackle, defense. In the modern system of ...

and was named to the All-GLIAC Honorable Mention Team and also voted WSU's Co-Offensive Rookie of the Year. He helped Wayne State university rush for over 170 yards per game in that season. In 2009 season, Long was named to the GLIAC All-Academic team which he started all 11 games at left tackle. Long also was named to the All-GLIAC Honorable Mention team leading to key contributor to an offense that ranked second in the GLIAC and ninth nationally in rushing yards per game (233.7) In 2010 season, Long was named to the D2Football.com Honorable Mention All-America team in which he was selected to the Daktronics Super Region #3 Second-team offense. Long also was named to the Hansen's Football Gazette All-Region Third-team as an

and voted to the All-GLIAC First-team offensive line. He was named to the GLIAC All-Academic team and was one of the Warrior captains in which he was the squad's Co-offensive Player of the Week for the Northwood game. He shared the team's Offensive Player of the Week award for the Saginaw Valley contest with the rest of the offensive line. He was a regional finalist for the Gene Upshaw Award and he earned the team's the Ultimate Warrior award for the football student-athlete who did outstanding work in the weight room. In 2011 season, he was the recipient of the 2011 Gene Upshaw Award as the top Division II lineman in both offensive and defensive side. He was selected to the Daktronics All-America First-team as well as the All-America First-teams for both D2Football.com and Hansen's Football Gazette team following the season. He was selected to the Associated Press Little All-America First-team. He was selected to the Don Hansen's Super Region Three First-team along with being selected as the GLIAC Offensive Lineman of the Year on November 17, 2011. He was selected to the Daktronics Super Region First-team and was voted as the top vote-getter at offensive line position and was selected to the 2011 All-GLIAC First-team on January 19, 2012. He also was selected as the Super Region 3 Offensive Player of the Year by Don Hansen and also was selected to the 2011 GLIAC All-Academic Team. He blocked an important third quarter field goal attempt at St. Cloud with Wayne State leading 27-24 to earn WSU's Special Teams Player of the Week award for his efforts that game. He contributed in Wayne State's offensive Line as it help lead the team to rush for 1,038 rushing yards and 15 rushing touchdowns in the 2011 NCAA playoffs. Long started all 49 games at left tackle breaking the school record for both career and consecutive starts (Rich Baur, 1993–96, 44 starts). He blocked for a 1,000-yard rusher all four seasons ( Joique Bell rushed for 1152 yards in 2008 and 2084 yards in 2009), ( Josh Renel rushed for 1249 yards in 2010 and 1353 yards in 2011 and Toney Davis ran for 1557 yards in 2011). On January 21, 2012, he participated in the 2012 East-West Shrine Game.

Professional career

St. Louis Rams

Long signed with the

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

. On August 31, 2012, he was released.

Pittsburgh Steelers

On November 28, 2012, he signed with the

to join the practice squad.

Chicago Bears

On December 18, 2013, Long signed a 2-year contract with the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

. He was released on August 24, 2014.

Detroit Lions

On December 31, 2014, Long signed with the Detroit Lions to join the practice squad.

References

External links

Wayne State profile

St. Louis Rams profile

Pittsburgh Steelers profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Joe 1989 births Living people American football offensive tackles Chicago Bears players Pittsburgh Steelers players St. Louis Rams players Wayne State Warriors football players People from Lapeer, Michigan Sportspeople from Lapeer County, Michigan Players of American football from Michigan