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David Long has record day for WVU football team

By Matthew Peaslee

MORGANTOWN, WV - OCTOBER 28: The West Virginia Mountaineers take the field against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Mountaineer Field on October 28, 2017 in Morgantown, West Virginia. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
MORGANTOWN, WV - OCTOBER 28: The West Virginia Mountaineers take the field against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Mountaineer Field on October 28, 2017 in Morgantown, West Virginia. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /
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The Oklahoma State offense didn’t make a rainy day any easier for the WVU football team on Saturday.

West Virginia’s David Long made things a little bit easier for the home team, though. He was flying around on defense making plays across the field. The outside linebacker had one of the best defensive days in WVU football history by recording 18 total tackles and seven tackles for a loss.

The seven tackles for a loss resulted in a loss of 16 yards for Oklahoma State. The Cowboys still won, 50-39, at Milan Puskar Stadium. But for Long to put up those kind of numbers, the WVU football team had a small win moving forward. Long has established himself as one of the best linebackers in the Big 12 Conference.

The defense as a whole is still a weakness for the Mountaineers. They could’t get much pressure on OSU quarterback Mason Rudolph and the receivers still got open downfield. The biggest reason Long was able to record so many tackles was because OSU running back J.D. King was scatting all over the place. He was tough to bring down, but Long was there to stop him.

Long also had a fumble recovery as the WVU football team forced four turnovers. The most tackles Long had before the OSU game was nine against Texas Tech two weeks ago. His involvement on Saturday against the Cowboys bodes well for the Mountaineers moving forward. There’s been a lot of moving pieces for the West Virginia defense this season, but Long has cemented himself in his position.

He is a redshirt freshman who hails from Cincinnati. Wearing No. 11, he gave Mountaineer fans flashbacks to another big guy who wore that number — Bruce Irvin. If Long keeps getting into the backfield at will, he will definitely make current fans forget about Irvin because this year’s defense will have exactly what it needs to be more successful than it has been in the past.

Next: Oklahoma State beats down West Virginia

The WVU football team has a lot of question marks the rest of this season, on offense and defense, but David Long showed he can be a sure thing with his performance against Oklahoma State.

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