Dustin Long (American football)
Encyclopedia
Dustin Dakota Long is a former American football
quarterback
for Texas A&M University
and Sam Houston State University
. He played briefly for the NFL's
Dallas Cowboys
. Long is the son of Kim and Mike Long of Groves, Texas
. His father, Mike, played quarterback at Lamar University
.
to the 1999 4A Division II State Championship game while throwing for 3,130 yards and 28 touchdowns. He was named Houston Chronicle
Offensive Player of the Year and received the Willie Ray Smith Award, given to the South-east Texas Offensive MVP
. Long played in the Oil Bowl
and the THSCA North-South All-Star game. He passed for 6,173 yards and 56 touchdowns in his high school career.
with a solid performance against the Pitt Pathers
in the second game of the season and started his first career game the following week against Virginia Tech
. Long passed for 2,509 yards and 19 touchdowns on 177-of-333 passing, his 2,509 season passing yards putting him at No. 2 in school history for a single season. He started the last nine games of the season and played in all 12. He posted 300-yard passing games against Kansas (399), Texas Tech
(367) and Oklahoma State (332). Long shared Big 12 Conference
Offensive Player of the Week honors with Texas Tech’s Kliff Kingsbury
after passing for 367 yards and seven touchdowns against the Red Raiders, his seven touchdowns shattering a Big 12 record. His 19 passing touchdowns tied him with Gary Kubiak
for the most in one season at A&M.
as the starting quarterback, although he did see action in all 12 games. In his lone start against Mizzou
(after an injury to McNeal), Long passed for 252 yards and a touchdown on 23-of-29 passing. He finished the season with 709 passing yards and four touchdowns on 63-of-104 attempts.
following the 2003 season. During his senior season, Long passed for 3,408 yards and 31 touchdowns and led the SHSU to an 11-3 record and helped propel them into the NCAA Division I-AA playoff semifinals. He was named the Southland Conference
Offensive Player of the Year and led the Bearkats to a share of the Southland title and an NCAA playoff berth.
In the first round of the playoffs, Long led his team to victory against Western Kentucky. He threw for 323 yards and four touchdowns, leading Sam Houston State to a 54-24 win.
In the second round, Long passed for 478 yards and three touchdowns to rally the Bearkats from a 20-point fourth quarter deficit, leading them on a 75-yard drive which culminated with a seven-yard touchdown pass to Jason Mathenia as time expired for a 35-34 win.
In the semifinals against Montana, Long was 35-of-53 for 375 yards, but was erratic throwing two interceptions without a touchdown. He was sacked six times, matching his total for the entire season up to that point. Ironically, Montana quarterback Craig Ochs
was a transfer from Texas A&M's Big 12 rival Colorado Buffaloes
.
, he participated in workouts and a team mini-camp with the Dallas Cowboys
, who allocated him to the Hamburg Sea Devils
of NFL Europa, where he did not see any regular-season action. He helps his father, Mike Long, with coaching football at Monsignor Kelly Catholic High School
in Beaumont, Texas
.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
for Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...
and Sam Houston State University
Sam Houston State University
Sam Houston State University was founded in 1879 and is the third oldest public institution of higher learning in the State of Texas. It is located in Huntsville, Texas. It is one of the oldest purpose-built institutions for the instruction of teachers west of the Mississippi River and the first...
. He played briefly for the NFL's
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
. Long is the son of Kim and Mike Long of Groves, Texas
Groves, Texas
Groves is a city in Jefferson County, Texas, United States. The population was 15,733 at the 2000 census. A July 1, 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 14,393. It is part of the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area....
. His father, Mike, played quarterback at Lamar University
Lamar University
Lamar University, often referred to as Lamar or LU, is a comprehensive coeducational public research university located in Beaumont, Texas, United States. Lamar confers bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees and is classified as a Doctoral Research University by the Carnegie Commission on Higher...
.
High school career
As a senior, Long led Port Neches-Groves High SchoolPort Neches-Groves High School
Port Neches-Groves High School is located in Port Neches, Texas. The high school is the only high school in the Port Neches-Groves Independent School District and serves portions of Port Neches, Groves, and Port Arthur...
to the 1999 4A Division II State Championship game while throwing for 3,130 yards and 28 touchdowns. He was named Houston Chronicle
Houston Chronicle
The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Texas, USA, headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building in Downtown Houston. , it is the ninth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States...
Offensive Player of the Year and received the Willie Ray Smith Award, given to the South-east Texas Offensive MVP
Most Valuable Player
In sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...
. Long played in the Oil Bowl
Oil Bowl
Oil Bowl was a college football bowl game played at Rice Stadium in Houston, Texas, in 1944, 1946, and 1947. Muddy conditions for the first and freezing temperatures for the third game doomed future contests....
and the THSCA North-South All-Star game. He passed for 6,173 yards and 56 touchdowns in his high school career.
2001 season
Long did not see any action during the regular season. He entered the Galleryfurniture.com Bowl in the fourth quarter, but did not attempt a pass.2002 season
Long had a record-breaking season as a sophomore after not attempting a pass as a freshman. He won the starting spot from two-year incumbent starter Mark FarrisMark Farris
Mark Allen Farris is a former quarterback for Texas A&M University and a former shortstop in the Pittsburgh Pirates minor league system. He is the son of Nancy and Phil Farris of Angleton, Texas...
with a solid performance against the Pitt Pathers
Pittsburgh Panthers football
Pittsburgh Panthers football is the intercollegiate football team of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Traditionally the most popular sport at the university, Pitt football has played at the highest level of American college football...
in the second game of the season and started his first career game the following week against Virginia Tech
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, popularly known as Virginia Tech , is a public land-grant university with the main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia with other research and educational centers throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and internationally.Founded in...
. Long passed for 2,509 yards and 19 touchdowns on 177-of-333 passing, his 2,509 season passing yards putting him at No. 2 in school history for a single season. He started the last nine games of the season and played in all 12. He posted 300-yard passing games against Kansas (399), Texas Tech
Texas Tech Red Raiders
The Texas Tech Red Raiders are the athletic teams that represent Texas Tech University . The women's basketball team uses the name Lady Raiders; however, the school's other women's teams use the "Red Raiders" name. The university's athletic program fields teams in 15 varsity sports and 30 club sports...
(367) and Oklahoma State (332). Long shared Big 12 Conference
Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...
Offensive Player of the Week honors with Texas Tech’s Kliff Kingsbury
Kliff Kingsbury
Klifford "Kliff" Kingsbury is an American Football Coach, serving as the current co-offensive coordinator for the University of Houston Cougar football team. Prior to his current role, Kingsbury was a Quarterback in the NFL and NFL Europe, winning a Super Bowl with the New England Patriots in a...
after passing for 367 yards and seven touchdowns against the Red Raiders, his seven touchdowns shattering a Big 12 record. His 19 passing touchdowns tied him with Gary Kubiak
Gary Kubiak
Gary Wayne Kubiak is the head coach for the Houston Texans of the National Football League. Kubiak has participated in six Super Bowls, losing three as a player with the Denver Broncos and winning three as an assistant coach with Denver and the San Francisco 49ers.-High school:Kubiak passed for a...
for the most in one season at A&M.
2003 season
Long was supplanted by Reggie McNealReggie McNeal
Reginald Parrish McNeal is a quarterback and wide receiver in the Canadian Football League with the Edmonton Eskimos. He played college football at Texas A&M University.-High school career:...
as the starting quarterback, although he did see action in all 12 games. In his lone start against Mizzou
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
(after an injury to McNeal), Long passed for 252 yards and a touchdown on 23-of-29 passing. He finished the season with 709 passing yards and four touchdowns on 63-of-104 attempts.
2004 season
Unhappy with his lack of playing time, Long decided to transfer to Sam Houston State UniversitySam Houston State University
Sam Houston State University was founded in 1879 and is the third oldest public institution of higher learning in the State of Texas. It is located in Huntsville, Texas. It is one of the oldest purpose-built institutions for the instruction of teachers west of the Mississippi River and the first...
following the 2003 season. During his senior season, Long passed for 3,408 yards and 31 touchdowns and led the SHSU to an 11-3 record and helped propel them into the NCAA Division I-AA playoff semifinals. He was named the Southland Conference
Southland Conference
The Southland Conference is a college athletic conference which operates in the south central United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it participates in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision...
Offensive Player of the Year and led the Bearkats to a share of the Southland title and an NCAA playoff berth.
In the first round of the playoffs, Long led his team to victory against Western Kentucky. He threw for 323 yards and four touchdowns, leading Sam Houston State to a 54-24 win.
In the second round, Long passed for 478 yards and three touchdowns to rally the Bearkats from a 20-point fourth quarter deficit, leading them on a 75-yard drive which culminated with a seven-yard touchdown pass to Jason Mathenia as time expired for a 35-34 win.
In the semifinals against Montana, Long was 35-of-53 for 375 yards, but was erratic throwing two interceptions without a touchdown. He was sacked six times, matching his total for the entire season up to that point. Ironically, Montana quarterback Craig Ochs
Craig Ochs
Craig Ochs was an American football quarterback for the San Diego Chargers and Buffalo Bills in the NFL and was also assigned to the Frankfurt Galaxy of NFL Europa in the 2006 season.-Biography:...
was a transfer from Texas A&M's Big 12 rival Colorado Buffaloes
Colorado Buffaloes
The University of Colorado Boulder sponsors 16 varsity sports teams. Both men's and women's team are called the Buffaloes or Golden Buffaloes . "Lady Buffs" referred to the women's teams beginning in the 1970s, but was officially dropped in 1993...
.
Professional career
Although Long went undrafted in the 2005 NFL Draft2005 NFL Draft
The 2005 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 23–24, 2005. The league also held an supplemental draft that year, which was held after...
, he participated in workouts and a team mini-camp with the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
, who allocated him to the Hamburg Sea Devils
Hamburg Sea Devils
The Hamburg Sea Devils were an American football team that began play in NFL Europa from 2005 to 2007. They played their home games at Hamburg's AOL Arena . They played their first game on April 2, 2005 losing 24-23 to the Cologne Centurions...
of NFL Europa, where he did not see any regular-season action. He helps his father, Mike Long, with coaching football at Monsignor Kelly Catholic High School
Monsignor Kelly Catholic High School
Monsignor Kelly Catholic High School is a parochial, Roman Catholic high school in Beaumont, Texas. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Beaumont. A majority of students at Kelly come from various grade schools within the Diocese of Beaumont and one Episcopalian elementary and middle...
in Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont is a city in and county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, United States, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 118,296 at the 2010 census. With Port Arthur and Orange, it forms the Golden Triangle, a major industrial area on the...
.