Rien Michael Long (born August 7, 1981) is a former American college and professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for three seasons during the early 2000s. He played college football for Washington State University, earned All-American honors, and was recognized as the top college interior lineman. The Tennessee Titans chose him in the fourth round of the 2003 NFL Draft, and he played for the Titans until his pro career was cut short by injuries.
| No. 99 | |||||||
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| Position: | Defensive tackle | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born: | August 7, 1981 Los Angeles, California, U.S. | ||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | ||||||
| Weight: | 300 lb (136 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school: | Anacortes (WA) | ||||||
| College: | Washington State | ||||||
| NFL draft: | 2003 / Round: 4 / Pick: 126 | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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| Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |||||||
Early years edit
Long was born in Los Angeles, California. He attended Anacortes High School in Anacortes, Washington.
College career edit
Long accepted an athletic scholarship to attend Washington State University, where he played for the Washington State Cougars football team from 2000 to 2002. As a junior in 2002, he won the Outland Trophy as that year's best college football interior lineman, and was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American.[1]
Professional career edit
Tennessee Titans edit
The Titans drafted him in the fourth round in 2003, and he started five of 39 games through his first three seasons with 9½ career sacks and 99 career tackles.[2] He missed the 2006 season with a torn Achilles' tendon, then was placed on injured reserve for 2007 with a knee injury before being waived.[3]
Florida Tuskers edit
Long was drafted by the Florida Tuskers on the UFL Premiere Season Draft in 2009 and signed with the team on September 3.[4] He was released on September 22.
Television career edit
Animal Planet edit
Long co-starred in Going Native with his brother Devan Long. The pair subject themselves to the 9,000-year-old rites of passage of the Tatooya tribe in the Colombian Amazon to begin their journey into manhood, including ceremonial vomiting, blowdart hunting and ritual whipping. The show first aired on June 7, 2015.
Personal edit
Long is of one-fourth Armenian descent and cherishes his heritage greatly. He has a tattoo of the seventh letter of the Armenian alphabet (Է) over the Armenian flag on his biceps. Rien Long's trip to Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh in March 2006 was the subject of a feature-length documentary, "The Long Journey from the NFL to Armenia" Rien has one son by the name of Gavon who plays soccer, football, and basketball in Anacortes (www.globalistfilms.com).
Just before midnight on January 21, 2008, Long crashed his 2005 Ford Mustang into a rock wall while driving too fast on an I-40 on-ramp near downtown Nashville. Long was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center where he suffered injuries that left him in critical condition.[3][5]
References edit
- ^ 2011 NCAA Football Records Book, Award Winners, National Collegiate Athletic Association, Indianapolis, Indiana, p. 11 (2011). Retrieved June 23, 2012.
- ^ "2003 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
- ^ a b "Former Titans DT Rien Long critical after 1-car crash". USA Today. January 22, 2008. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
- ^ "Florida Tuskers Announce Signing Of 11 Additional Players Including Koren Robinson & Tatum Bell". OurSports Central. September 3, 2009. Retrieved August 30, 2011.
- ^ "Ex-Titans' Long Improves After Crash". Archived from the original on 29 January 2008. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
External links edit
- Rien Long – Washington State Cougars player profile