Versatile David Long made mark on WVU scout team

A year ago, David Long was the West Virginia football team’s 19th signee in the recruiting class. This year, he is the top young defensive prospect on the team.

Long, a linebacker, was named the Defensive Scout Team Player of the Year by head coach Dana Holgorsen this week.

While it’s hard to tack down any definitive defensive stats for Long, he was a prized recruit coming out of Winton Woods High School in Cincinnati in 2015. He also had scholarship offers from Kentucky, Louisville, Missouri and Illinois.

At 6-foot, 215 pounds, Long is agile enough to be one of the Mountaineers fastest linebackers by the time he cracks the depth chart, this season or next. His body type might be more compared to a safety and it was suggested in his recruiting profile that Long could switch to a bandit or spur position if he doesn’t fill out at linebacker in the Mountaineers’ 3-3-5 defensive scheme.

No matter where he ends up, his transition from high school to college ball seems to be smooth. Working with one of the nation’s top defenses this season surely helped in his learning and development.

In high school, Long was a district player of the year and All-Ohio first teamer. As a senior, he had 110 total tackles, 16 of which were for a loss. Thus proving his speed and skill to be able to get from the outside and into the backfield and disrupt a play.

Long runs a 4.54 40-yard dash and records a 4.48 in the shuttle hurdles. With a Division I training program, he’ll be able to get faster and even add on to his frame in the weight room.

Earning the Scout Team Player of the Year honor likely isn’t something Long will treasure 50 years down the road, but now it should provide enough motivation to go above-and-beyond this offseason.

After all there are open spots for the Mountaineers at linebacker with Jared Barber, Nick Kwiatkoski and Shaq Petteway all graduating. If Long is more fitted for the secondary, there is a chance to see playing time there as well with only Dravon Askew-Henry, Shane Commodore and Jeremy Tyler returning from the two-deep at safety.