Gregory Andrew DeLong (born April 3, 1973) 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 ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

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).

Early life and education

DeLong was born in

Orefield, Pennsylvania Orefield is a small unincorporated community in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. The community is split between North Whitehall and South Whitehall townships. Orefield is part of the Lehigh Valley, which has a population of 861,899 and is the 68t ...

. He attended Parkland High School in

South Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania South Whitehall Township is a township in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, United States. The township's population was 19,180 at the 2010 census. It is a suburb of Allentown and is part of the Lehigh Valley, which had a population of 861,899 and w ...

and then the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

Chapel Hill, North Carolina Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, Orange and Durham County, North Carolina, Durham counties, North Carolina, United States. Its population was 61,960 in the 2020 United States census, making Chapel Hill the List of municipa ...

, where he played football for the

North Carolina Tarheels The North Carolina Tar Heels (also Carolina Tar Heels) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North ...

Professional career

DeLong participated in the

1995 NFL draft The 1995 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 22–23, 1995 at the Paramount ...

but was not drafted. He was later signed by the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

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 ...

that year and played with the Vikings for four years from the 1995 season through the 1998 season. After the Vikings, DeLong played for the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

in the 1999 season and then with the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

in the 2000 season.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:DeLong, Greg 1973 births Living people American football tight ends Baltimore Ravens players Jacksonville Jaguars players Minnesota Vikings players North Carolina Tar Heels football players Parkland High School (Pennsylvania) alumni Players of American football from Lehigh County, Pennsylvania