Commitment Date: August 16, 2012
Hometown: Washington, D.C.
High School: Paul L. Dunbar High School
Junior College: Iowa Western Community College
Other Colleges: West Virginia, New Mexico
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 205 lbs.
ESPN Rank: N/A, 4-star WR
Scout.com Rank: N/A, 3-star WR
Rivals Rank: N/A, 5-star WR
247Sports Rank: #2 JUCO WR, 4-star
40 time: 4.30 secs. (Multiple sources)
Other Offers: Florida, Illinois, Nebraska
Deon Long has been a lot of different places. Coming out of high school, he committed to West Virginia. He never played there, and moved on to Hargrave Military Academy. From there, he attended New Mexico. He played one season with the Lobos before moving on to Iowa Western Community College. After that, he committed to Maryland as the first 5-star junior college recruit since Cam Newton.
Long has a very impressive set of skills. He runs a 4.3 40-yard dash, so he has blazing speed. But he also has the hands of a possession receiver. He really has the best of both worlds, and has impressed college scouts ever since he graduated from Dunbar High School in 2008. When Rivals recruiting analyst Adam Friedman spoke to Baltimore Sports and Life about Long, he explained that one of the reasons he’s moved around so much is that he has struggled to feel at home in one place. Being close to home and close to his family should help with that, and the Terps definitely hope he sticks around for his final two years of college. Rivals recruiting analyst Mike Farrell projects that Deon Long will be drafted in the 1st round of the 2015 NFL Draft.
Deon Long and Stefon Diggs will be a truly lethal combination for the Terps. When asked how teams will stop both of them, Long simply replied, “They won’t.” It will certainly be tough on opposing teams, and even if they can shut one or both of them down, the Terps have enough talent at receiver to exploit that. Marcus Leak, who served as the Terps’ #2 receiver last season until he tore his ACL in the game against N.C. State, should see the field a lot as well next season. While Long and Diggs will be the two starters, expect offensive coordinator Mike Locksley (who coached Long at New Mexico) to use a lot of 3-wide sets and go to more of a spread offense due to the amount of talent at wide receiver.
Terps Analyst
Zack is a financial analyst for a defense contractor in Washington, DC. The Owings Mills native focuses most of his efforts on Maryland Football recruiting and individual coach and player pieces; but also covers Terps Basketball. He has established relationships with Big Ten beat reporters across the conference, which he utilizes in his game previews. Now a Sr. Terps Analyst for BSL, Zack can be reached at: zack.kiesel@baltimoresportsandlife.com.