Prospect: Richard Long

Prospect: Richard Long#18616

By Sly Fox - June 20th, 2006, 1:48 am

- June 20th, 2006, 1:48 am #18616

Here is a prospect a little closer to Lynchburg:

Richard Long
6' 1" 211 lb Running Back
Quicksburg (VA) Stonewall Jackson HS

Richard's Personal Webpage for Recruiting
Rivals Profile

College Choices (as of 6/19/06):

Colorado
Georgia
UVa
Va Tech
VMI
William & Mary
LIBERTY

SWJ Star Longing For Georgia
Long also drawing interest from Tech, U.Va.

By Marcus Helton
Posted 2006-06-13

Richard Long still has Georgia on his mind, and apparently the feeling is mutual.

The Stonewall Jackson High School rising senior – who has made no secret of his dream to play football at the University of Georgia – has received interest from the Bulldogs, who invited him to watch their spring game in April and come to a football camp last week.

"It just looks like things are falling into place for Richard," Stonewall coach Dick Krol said Monday. "Hopefully it does, because he’s had a hell of a career for us and done a great job for us."

For his part, Long has tried not to let the attention from his favorite school go to his head.

"I’m just trying to keep it real, man," he said. "I want to stay level-headed, I don’t want to get all like, ‘Yeah, I’m going to Georgia’ and all that other stuff. I’m just trying to keep it real mellow."

The driving force behind the Bulldogs’ interest in the 6-foot-1 ½, 215-pounder is new UGA running backs coach Tony Ball, who was the receivers coach at Virginia Tech before leaving in February, Krol said.

"Tony already knew about Richard, so that gave Richard an in to start with," Krol said. " …. So right now it’s in the works, and coach Ball basically told him if the first two or three games of next year he shows improvement and that he’s on the right track, he could be a Bulldog next year or the year after."

The relationship with Ball helped get Long an invite to Georgia’s ‘G-Day’ spring game April 8. There were 18,530 fans at UGA’s Sanford Stadium – which seats 92,746 – to see the contest.

"That was my first time being in Athens," Long said. "The stadium’s really big – it’s like the fifth largest stadium – so it’s really an eye-opener. Just knowing that Herschel Walker and other great players have walked through there and played there, it’s like, ‘Well hopefully I can do my best to become one of them.’"

He also received an invitation to UGA’s camp June 7-10, where he impressed the coaches with his skills at linebacker. Long said he’s unsure what position he’d prefer to play in college.

"I really like hitting people," he said. "I mean, that’s the game of football. You’ve got to want to hit somebody. And if you have the mentality to where you want to go out there and – it sounds hateful – but just, like obliterate somebody, I think it makes you better for that position. … I really like to hit people, but I also really like to run the ball, so I’m stuck in a tie."

As a junior, he was a force on both sides of the ball, leading the Generals in rushing (212 carries for 1,831 yards), receiving (22 catches for 299), and touchdowns (19) while tallying a team-high 111 tackles as a linebacker and earning Associated Press second team All-State honors on offense. He was also named Region B and Shenandoah District Offensive Player of the Year.

Despite his preference for the Bulldogs, Long and Krol both said they’ve been careful not to alienate other schools. Krol said Colorado, Virginia Tech, and Virginia have all shown interest, and Long added he’s talked to coaches from William & Mary, Liberty and Virginia Military Institute.

"I’m really striving for Georgia," he said, "but I’m not going to sit here and be like, ‘Well I’m putting everything into Georgia.’ I’m going to put as much as I can into it to impress them. But it’s hard to do everything for Georgia and keep that same excitement in going into another place and trying to impress them as well."

He’ll make his first attempt when he attends the University of Maryland’s camp June 21-24.

"I’m trying to keep the same mentality that, ‘You’re here to impress these people,’ because they can offer you a lot as well," Long said. "Of course, I don’t like them as much as Georgia, but how is my mind going to be going into the camp? I’m trying to do the best that I can do."

Krol, for one, thinks he’ll do just fine.

"Without a question, he’s got the talent," he said. "He’s got some rough edges that he’s got to work on, and I’m sure Coach Ball has told him about it. I’m sure Coach Ball will get in touch with me and we’ll see what we can do to make sure that this dream comes true. … If he’ll put in the time and the work – which I think he will – there are some people that better watch out next year."

http://www.dnronline.com/sports_details ... 827&CHID=3

To give you an idea what type of athlete Richard is, he threw the discus this spring 134' 7".

Here's another older writeup on Richard:

Football: New attitude has helped Long

By Ryan Sonner (Daily Staff Writer)

QUICKSBURG — It might be a little harsh to call Richard Long a bad seed, but his future didn't look very bright a year ago.
Long was entering his freshman year at Stonewall Jackson and he wanted to play football with the varsity team. The problem was he had an attitude. It was so bad, in fact, Stonewall coach Dick Krol wasn't even sure if he wanted him on the team.
"Richard was a brash, cocky kid when he first got here," Krol said. "I wasn't sure how far he was going to go."
Krol decided to give Long a chance, in part, because it would give him a chance to play alongside his older brother Thomas, who was entering his senior season. Krol was hoping Thomas could settle his younger brother down a little bit and show him the ropes.
One year later, Krol barely recognizes Richard Long.
"He got serious, listened and learned," he said. "Now, it's hard for us to realize he's only a sophomore. I can't remember the last time we had a sophomore that looked and acted like he does.
"I told his mother I expected him, as a freshman, to be quiet and do what he's told, and he did exactly that. The desire to play with his brother was a part of that."
The new and improved Long has stepped in and become a leader for a team that won just three games last season. At 6-foot-1, 185 pounds, Long gives the Generals something they haven't had in ages — a tall, but bruising running back with the ability to break open a big play.
He showed a little of both in the season-opener against Clarke County on Sept. 3. Long had just one run over 10 yards, but it was a big one. His 55-yard run in the second half enabled the Generals to momentarily pull away from the Eagles. Clarke eventually tied the game, but Stonewall prevailed by one point in overtime.
Long, who plays more than one role for the Generals, also ran the second-half kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown.
"He has the potential to be one of the best, if not the best, big-play guy we have on our team," quarterback Patrick Smoot said. "He has the speed, size and strength. He can be a big-play guy whenever we need it."
As a freshman, Long rushed for over 600 yards, which is very uncommon for a Krol-coached team. Normally, freshmen, especially at the skill positions, stand on the sidelines and watch the older guys. After two games this season, Long is on pace for over 750 yards. He had 249 all-purpose yards against Clarke.
A year ago, Long would've had no problem talking himself up, explaining how talented he was and how many yards he expected to gain. His tone is completely different now.
"I see myself as being good, but I don't want to say this or that," he said. "I just want to be as good as I can be. It's really the guys blocking in front of me. They give me the holes."
Even though he won't admit it, Long is perhaps the best athlete on the team. That's why Krol and his coaching staff have no problem splitting him out wide to catch a few passes.
"He's our best receiver," Smoot said.
Smoot is appreciative of Long's athletic ability, especially on defense. Smoot is a defensive back while Long lines up in front of him at middle linebacker. Smoot's job is to make sure the defense knows what's going on. Long's job is to put the plan into action.
"They put me back there for my brains," Smoot said. "I'm not ashamed to admit it. I'm not there for my stellar tackling. [Long] takes a lot of worry off me."
Krol, unlike many coaches, doesn't mind talking about potential. He said Long could turn out to be the best running back he's ever coached. So far, it's been a strange journey that Krol doesn't fully understand.
"We don't know why, we don't know how, and we don't care," Krol said of Long's sudden turnaround. "His focus and desire really changed everything. He's turned out to be an extremely good kid and a good kid to coach."