Outstanding By Any Measure
Long impresses in every role
Mike Brohard
No person is just one thing. A change of setting is an altering of the role, and those suggest variation. An inherent pressure can settle for some to mold and fit the situation, alter the approach. It’s not easy to remain steady.
Then there’s Owen Long. Everyone around the Colorado State football program likes everything about the young man. He’s respectful and diligent. He places team before himself. He is dependable and consistent. All of it led to him being named a captain this season, at the ripe young age of 19, having started just one game in his career.
It all makes the true sophomore a heck of a football player, too. He leads the nation in tackles (93) and tackles per game (13.3). It’s a big part of why he was named a Second-Team AP Midseason All-American.
He isn’t one or the other. One doesn’t have to pick a side; to say they prefer the outstanding person over the phenomenal player. One, according to interim head coach and defensive coordinator Tyson Summers, is the other.
They cannot be separated. He does not change.
“I think they're the same person. I think like anything, I think Owen the person is obviously what drives Owen the football player to be such a good player,” Summers said. “I still think they're the same person.
“You know, I remember when I was young, I had asked my mom, I said, ‘should I get a Ford F-150 one day or should I have a Ford Mustang?’ She said, ‘it sounds like you just need a Ford.’ Well, I think that's Owen. I think football makes him a great person. I think he's a great person. That's why he's a great football player. I think it's all tied together.”
He wasn’t a highly rated recruit when he came to Fort Collins from Whittier, Calif. He was a safety in high school and a talented baseball player. But there was just something about him the coaches saw. They looked beyond his lean strength and still saw a linebacker. It was the way he played, aggressively and with reckless abandon. When they saw the ball, they found Long.
He pledged his allegiance to the Rams late in the process, yet as soon as he came out to practice, he was seemingly always first to do something right, something positive. They couldn’t keep him out of the lineup, using him on special teams and as a reserve backer. He would immediately turn lessons into muscle memory.
Exactly the way he was as a prep.
“I feel like it's something I've done since I was young. No matter what sport I was playing or if I was just in the backyard with my brothers or whatever it was, I think just trying to be one step ahead and play fast and don't second guess when you're out there because that's when troubles come and mistakes happen,” Long said. “I mean I love playing football and you know I get to wake up every day and do it and I really am grateful for it. The day I lose love for the game would be the day to hang it up, but I don't see that coming anytime soon because I really do just wake up and I'm so grateful I get to do this. I mean, we're playing a kid's game. It doesn't really get much better than that you know.”
His ability to command an audience, to earn respect, is no different from the way he passionately attacks every game, every practice. The book on him is he loves contact, but that’s not limited to game day. He’s that way every day, which means the coaches have to reel him in at times to save on wear and tear. It’s a long season, and he has a long career in front of him.
He's the same guy every day. I think the hardest part about life is just consistency.Jacob Ellis
Some of that comes from being smack dab in the middle of five children, raised by parents who are in the first-responder industry. You learn to get to the dinner table on time. You learn hard lessons from the brothers who are older. You pass them on to your younger brother and sister.
Jacob Ellis discerned one thing about Long in short order. He only does things one way.
“I think it's the way you carry yourself in all aspects of life. When it comes to school, nutrition, weight room, it's how you carry yourself and how you do anything is how you do everything,” he said. “Owen is definitely someone who does everything the right way. When it comes to game time, you know Owen's going to do things the right way because he's trusted by everyone in this building. He's trusted by his peers and he's someone that we can all lean on.”
The adults in the room notice – and admire – those character traits. Clint Sintim, his position coach, took note early of how humble the young man was as well as how hard he worked. It was also the way he interacted with his teammates and the character he put on display.
At first meeting, few believe he’s not yet reached the age of 20. Especially not Angie Sintim.
“I had the guys over early when I got here in the summer. I really did just get an idea of how I'm living with my family and just make it a little bit more than football,” Clint said. “And my wife, who knows all of the guys but doesn't know their faces, she was there. They had a good time. And when they left, one thing my wife said was, ‘who is this redshirt senior? Which one was that? Who's the kid with the black hair?’ And I said, ‘baby, he's a sophomore. He’s our sophomore captain.’
“She was just blown away by his maturity and the approach that he took, his awareness of just being considerate and offering to help clean up, just little things that you kind of get from somebody with the wisdom just being around. So, she knew it as soon as she saw him, and I think that's something we all appreciate about him, why he's here, just his consideration, how he approaches everything.”
Long is prepared for anything and everything, in life and on the field. When he drew his first start in the bowl game, he posted seven tackles. The first six games this season, he posted double figures in each, starting with 13 against Washington. A few weeks later, he reset his career best against UTSA with 14, then doubled down at Washington State. It was 16 a week later, then 17 against Fresno State. It took Hawaii – a team which threw 38 passes – before he had less. Long still finished with eight to lead the team.
Long doesn’t call it talent, or even a nose for the ball. No, those are byproducts of the truth, which he says is preparation. And to Clint, no one is more in tune than Long.
“I think it comes from the things that you do throughout the week before the game. Obviously, you know, he's super productive,” Clint said. “To coach's point, he does have a nose for a ball. But Owen's in there watching film, Owen's in there practicing hard, Owen's in there taking notes. So, all the plays that he makes on Saturday are a result of what he's doing throughout the week.
“So, now when he sees something in the game, it's not the first time he's seen it. He's kind of prepared himself throughout the week, so in the game, instincts just take over. I think that's what makes him really special is that Owen's willing to do the hard things during the week. So that way he can shine on Saturday. And thus far, he's been phenomenal.”
None of that surprises anybody, least of all his teammates. They see the work, then they witness the results. Not just those in his age range, but the teammates who are a bit longer in the tooth.
Like everybody else, Jacob Ellis just assumed Long was older, just watching the way he carried himself and faced every duty. Now, he gets to line up alongside him on game days and, despite being older, feels blessed to share the same turf.
“It feels like a once in a lifetime opportunity to play with someone like Owen. He inspires others,” Ellis said. “I've always said there's three types of players. There's average, good, and great. The great players inspire others. Good players inspire themselves. The average players are just anonymous.
“Owen is a great player. He just inspires everyone and picks everyone up. It’s just the way in what he brings. He's the same guy every day. I think the hardest part about life is just consistency. I will say there's some days where you have to be after football and you're like, ‘oh, I'm a little tired. I stayed late going to school.’ Owen is someone who's going to bring that energy every day. He's going to be the same person every day. He can tell when someone's feeling off and he's going to be a good leader.”
For example, after taking down 17 Cougars in the game, a teammate lauded Long for his play. His response was simple: Did you see the three I missed?
Yes, he had made a bunch of big plays for the team, but he felt he’d let them down three times. That was three times too many.
“Never being satisfied is something that keeps us going and I think it's something that my dad really is hard on me about just because you know there's always something that you can build on and the day you get satisfied is the day you won't get better,” Long said. “I read something, it was like when you stop learning you stop growing, so just the ability to just build on every performance, every day, whether that's practice, in the meeting room, or whatever, it is just continuing to build and just put a better product out there every day.”
A drive which stems from his approach to life. To not only make himself better, but to aid others. To aid a friend, crack a joke when the moment calls. To right a wrong when necessary.
He connects with people the way he does ball carriers, with an intent and purpose. Being named a leader as a true sophomore surprised some. Just not him. Not because it was a goal, simply because he knows who he is as a person.
“I think it's kind of natural just because I I've always kind of been a talkative dude. I don't really … Maybe I need to stop talking sometimes, but I enjoy talking and just having conversation with people and just building relationships,” Long said. “I think that can go a long way in the sport especially with your teammates. Just having each other's back and being someone that people can count on, but you can't just do it here. You’ve got to know each other outside of this sport, outside of these walls, and that’s something that I really try to take a lot pride in.”
It makes Clint acutely aware of the fact he has to continue to challenge his player. An altered objective, a challenge presented in a varied manner. Not just as a player, as a team leader. Even the leader part. It may come natural to him, and his mannerisms don’t suggest he’s young, but that has to be part of the equation.
Then there are the expectations. He was leading the nation in tackles a month ago. The fact he still is shows there isn’t any settle in his DNA.
“I guess that's super drastic. Where now, as you came in the back door and you made some plays and people were like, this guy's going to be good to now, where everybody's looking at you to say, OK, this is one of the leaders, this is a captain on our team,” Clint said. “So, the expectations are a little bit higher. But to his credit, I think he stepped into that role. I think he's leading appropriately. I think he's finding his voice. And I think the more productive he is on the field the more people are going to look to him. And I think he's embracing it.”
The game. His life. The person. The player.
For most, it is simply impossible to draw a dividing line.
“I think it just speaks volumes to the fact that he kind of hits all the criteria. And that is really, really difficult to do,” Summers said. “To be the person who's respected, to be one of the hardest workers, to be extremely intelligent and to be the most productive. It's hard to find somebody to do all those things.
“In my 25 years, I think there's probably five guys that come off the top of my mind who I think can fit that, but he certainly does.”
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