Joe Long (American football)

Joseph R. "Joe" Long (born July 27, 1989) is an American football player who is currently playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He is the younger brother of Miami Dolphins Pro Bowl offensive tackle Jake Long. Long attended Wayne State University in Michigan and joined the Rams as a free agent as he went undrafted in the 2012 NFL Draft.

Long attended Lapeer East High School, where he played in the 2007 Michigan High School Football Coaches Association All-Star game which earned him a spot on the Second Team All-Flint Metro League and honorable mention AP Class A All-State honors.

At Wayne State University, Following his Freshman season in which he earned All-GLIAC Honorable Mention Team and also voted WSU's Co-Offensive Rookie of the Year. Following his Junior season, Long was named to the D2Football.com Honorable Mention All-America team and selected to the Hansen's Football Gazette All-Region Third Team.

High School
A 2007 graduate of Lapeer East High School. Long played in the 2007 Michigan High School Football Coaches Association All-Star game which earned him a spot on the Second Team All-Flint Metro League and honorable mention AP Class A All-State honors. He also participated in basketball and track for the Eagles which he served as a team captain in both football and basketball. Long also played hockey as a freshman.

College career
In 2007, Long dressed for the five home games and the game at St. Joseph's.

In 2008, He started all 11 games at left tackle and was named to the All-GLIAC Honorable Mention Team and also voted WSU's Co-Offensive Rookie of the Year. He helped Wayne State university rush for over 170 yards per game in that season.

In 2009, Long was named to the GLIAC All-Academic team which he started all 11 games at left tackle. Long also was named to the All-GLIAC Honorable Mention team leading to key contributor to an offense that ranked second in the GLIAC and ninth nationally in rushing yards per game (233.7)

In 2010, Long was named to the D2Football.com Honorable Mention All-America team in which he was selected to the Daktronics Super Region #3 Second Team offense. Long also was named to the Hansen's Football Gazette All-Region Third Team as an offensive tackle and voted to the All-GLIAC First Team offensive line. He was named to the GLIAC All-Academic team and was one of the Warrior captains in which he was the squad's Co-offensive Player of the Week for the Northwood game. He shared the team's Offensive Player of the Week award for the Saginaw Valley contest with the rest of the offensive line. He was a regional finalist for the Gene Upshaw Award and he earned the team's the Ultimate Warrior award for the football student-athlete who did outstanding work in the weight room.

Long started all 49 games at left tackle breaking the school record for both career and consecutive starts (Rich Baur, 1993–96, 44 starts). He blocked for a 1,000-yard rusher all four seasons (Joique Bell rushed for 1152 yards in 2008 and 2084 yards in 2009), (Josh Renel rushed for 1249 yards in 2010 and 1353 yards in 2011 and Toney Davis ran for 1557 yards in 2011). On January 21, 2012, He participated in the East-West Shrine Game

St. Louis Rams
Long signed with the St. Louis Rams as an undrafted free agent. On August 31, 2012, He was released.

Pittsburgh Steelers
On November 28, 2012, He signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers to join the practice squad.

Personal life
He is the son of John and Denise Long, and as noted above is the younger brother of Offensive Tackle Jake Long. He is not related to his former Rams teammate Chris Long, whose father is NFL Hall of Famer Howie Long.