Hard work paying off for Long

6-foot and 195-pound quarterback Thor Long of Sherman, Texas, is dedicated to honing his skills, and it has resulted in recruiting interest from colleges across the country. He expects to attend a junior day soon at Tulsa, a school that he is very interested in. Long recently discussed recruiting and his abilities on the field.

Long listed Tulsa, Boise State, Iowa State, Colorado, Northwestern, Oklahoma State and Nebraska as schools that are contacting him the most.

"Schools like Syracuse, Rice and Stanford are starting to pick up, and I receive a lot of interest mail from different schools," he added.

Tulsa, in particular, is a school that Long has been paying attention to for some time.

"I became interested in Tulsa a couple years ago, when they played Utah in the Armed Forces Bowl," Long explained. "Since I'm a quarterback, I think it's really important to be comfortable in a school's offensive scheme, and I believe Tulsa is one of those schools that would offer me that.

"It also has a reputation of producing great teams and good quarterbacks. I know some people that are close to the team, and I like the family atmosphere that it has."

As a junior last year, Long threw for 3,479 yards and 31 touchdowns. He only tossed eight interceptions and ran for another 15 scores.

"I am most known for having a strong arm and the ability to put the ball where it needs to be," said Long. "In the pocket, I have good awareness, and I'm able to scramble and throw on the run. I am accurate, have a quick release and have good footwork. I am mentally strong and take pride in being the leader of the team.

"I cannot be outworked. I take pride in staying after practice and watching film, so I know where to go with the ball on game day."

Long was quick to point out that, while he is confident in his abilities, he wouldn't be able to succeed without his teammates.

"All of these things cannot be done without the dedication of my linemen," he described. "I'm really a humble team player, and my team doing good means more to me than anything."

Long will be directing his third different offensive scheme in four years, and he realizes he has areas where he can improve.

"I'd say the one that's most obvious is my height, but being six foot, there's nothing I can do about that," said Long. "Since I transferred to Sherman from Callisburg, I've added 40 pounds of muscle and increased in all of my athletic areas. I could probably stand to improve my vertical another inch or two, because it's at 28 right now.

"I had the honor of working out with Richard Bartel of the Washington Redskins and Brady Quinn, and I'm always trying to improve in all the areas of my game. I'm a guy who is never satisfied. I truly believe that the more time I put in, it's going to pay off for my team."

When it comes to recruiting, Long says he wouldn't mind making an early decision. He hopes to find out more about Tulsa when he attends their upcoming junior day.

"As far as Tulsa is concerned, they know how I feel about them and their program, and as I've said before, I'm open to committing to a school early, because I want to focus on the upcoming season with my team here," he stated. "We have a lot of talent on Sherman, and I'm looking forward to an exciting year. I just want to enjoy it."

-------------------

GIVE InsideTulsaSports.com A TRY! This article is just a sample of the daily, in-depth coverage of Tulsa football, basketball and recruiting that you receive with a subscription to InsideTulsaSports.com. Start getting your daily fill of the inside scoop on the Golden Hurricane with a 7-day Free Trial. For more information, drop by the Membership Benefits page to learn more.