Long preparing for junior days

Whitehouse (Texas) linebacker Reggie Long has generated some buzz in East Texas and for good reason. As a junior the 6-1, 215-pound defender totaled 80 tackles, six sacks, two interceptions, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and 12 pass break ups.

His first offer has yet to be placed on the table but junior day invitations have come his way. Miami, Washington State, Houston, Texas State, Abilene Christian, and North Texas have each invited him to their campus for junior days and over the next few weeks he plans to take a few trips.

"I will be going to Texas State this weekend and next week I believe is North Texas," Long said. "Houston and Abilene Christian haven't setup theirs yet."

Long is not cocky about his ability, but he is confident. He always believed he had Division 1 ability and has put in several hours of work to get to this point in the process. Still he is honored to see the attention from college coaches come his way.

Whitehouse has seen its share of college coaches over the year, but it has been the high octane offense that has generated much of the buzz. Five-star receiver Trey Metoyer, Texas Tech receiver signee Dylan Cantrell, and 2014 quarterback Patrick Mahomes are a few who have caught the attention of college coaches from coast-to-coast.

Long is quick to give his offense credit, but he is just as quick to point out the defense packs some punch too.

"As usual offense gets most of the attention, our quarterback Patrick Mahomes has some offers and junior days and a bunch of schools have come by to talk to him," Long said. "On the defensive side we are bringing back three or four players with experience. I am a two-year starter and it's time for me to step up and be a good role model for my teammates."

The stats are nice, but he realizes it is about more than stats, and he is proud to provide his team with more than what is in the stat sheet.

"I pride myself in making plays and helping my teammates around me step up," Long said. "If I can make a play my teammates will feed off of what I'm doing so I can bring that intensity to my football team."

As a junior, Long received second-team all-district honors for his efforts.