October 21, 2015

Long snags D2Football.com National Special Teams Player of the Week

LIBERTY, Mo. – For the second time this season, Carson-Newman football has had a player lauded by D2Football.com as a national player of the week.

Defensive lineman Justin Long (Kingsport, Tenn.) earned National Special Teams Player of the Week honors from D2Football.com, joining running back Damian Baker (Columbus, Miss.) as Eagles who have earned national player of the week honors this season.

Long becomes the fifth Eagle all-time to earn national player of the week honors from D2Football.com and the first to earn the special teams accolade. Oddly enough, three of the five honorees earned their plaudit for something extraordinary they did against Newberry.

Long was also named the Tennessee Sportswriters Association has named Long the defensive player of the week for the Volunteer State, as well as the SAC's special teams player of the week.

"It's great," Long said. "It's something most teams take off, but we emphasize giving effort and trying to get in there for a block. The guy beside me (fellow defensive lineman) Brian Bembry emphasized us getting a push and getting off the ball quick. I'd say it worked out in the long run."

Long's first block came as time expired in the first half. The junior surged through the middle of the line and got his extended right paw on Ryan Janssen's 36-yard attempt to preserve the Eagles' 20-14 lead at the time.

Two drives later, Newberry marched its way down to the Eagles' eight only to have their drive stall out. This time with All-American punter Kyle Clark in the game for the kick, Long once more lurched through the heart of the line to deflect Clark's 25-yard attempt and preserve the 20-20 score.

The two-blocked kick performance is just the second multi-blocked kick performance in school history, joining Jarrett East-Brown's two blocked kicks against Mars Hill in the regular season finale in 2012.

Prior to this season, the last time Carson-Newman had a national player of the week honoree was 2009 (coincidentally, that's also the last time C-N had two honored in the same year).

Buck Wakefield shared the honor with Arkansas Tech quarterback Nick Graziano and Wayne State running back (and future Detroit Lion) Joique Bell, and set the Carson-Newman single-game record for rushing yards, gaining 303 yards on only 19 carries and leading the Eagles to a 45-7 win over Wingate in 2009 and the outright South Atlantic Conference title on that Saturday.

He had touchdown runs of 68 and 64 yards as C-N racked up 496 yards, including 317 in the first half, on the ground. He also caught two passes for 36 yards.

Wakefield broke former running back and SAC Player of the Year Heath Hawkins' record of 299 yards rushing in a single game with the performance. Hawkins set his record in 1998 in C-N's national semifinal win over Slippery Rock.

Long is Carson-Newman's fifth national player of the week honoree, and the first one on special teams.

Mario Russell earned national defensive player of the week honors from the organization on Sept. 30, 2009 after Russell tied a NCAA Division II record with four forced fumbles in a 23-20 win over Newberry. He also had eight tackles and five pass breakups.

Deonte Bolden was the Eagles other national defensive player of the week, honored Oct. 13, 2003, following a school record four interceptions in a 35-18 win for the Eagles over Newberry.

Long and the rest of the Eagles will be on display Saturday at 1:30 at Wingate. Coverage for the Eagles' matchup with the Bulldogs begins at 12:30 on the Eagle Sports Network on Joy 620 (WRJZ-AM, Knoxville), Mountain Country 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.