Son Emerges From Long Shadow

Growing up, Long was oblivious to his father's fame. He rarely even watched him play. As he reached high school, though, the idea of following his father began to weigh on him. It made him not want to play football at all.

"That's a heck of a thing to compete with," Long said. "I kind of resented it."

Genetics made the comparisons unavoidable. Howie and Chris were each born with six fingers on one hand. They share that granite jaw line. The first time John Blake, Long's coach at Charlottesville's St. Anne's-Belfield School, watched Long crouch into a stance, he blurted: "Oh, my God. That's his dad."

Long was afraid when his name landed atop recruiting charts. Was he getting credit only because of who his dad was? After his basketball games, Chris retreated to the basement at St. Anne's-Belfield. Still wearing his uniform, he would do power clean lifts. He'd call Blake and ask to run on the practice field. He worked harder than anyone Blake had ever coached. Yet he still struggled with his father's legacy.

Long had several long talks with Blake, wrestling with his father's impact on his career. "Your dad is never going to play another down of football," Blake told him. More and more, Long realized Howie had nothing to do with his results on the field.

"After a while, it's not a competition," Long said. "It's not a shadow I need to move out of or anything like that. Once I found out this is what I'm passionate about, this is what I'm good at, I just welcomed that with open arms. It's a help."

Howie had never pushed football on his boys. Chris's younger brother, Kyle, could have played football but instead chose to play baseball at Florida State. Howie Jr. is heading toward lacrosse.

Chris happened to choose football. "If you're going to play," Howie told him, "play the game the right way."

Howie, who lives five minutes from Charlottesville, does his best to blend in. He has been to a handful of practices, but only the open ones that fans and reporters can attend. "I'm just like every other parent," he said. He stands quietly off to the side, trying to not be noticed, his trademark flattop notwithstanding.

"I'm not coaching Chris," Howie said. "That's important for people to know. Chris is singularly responsible for his success."

Still, they speak at least once a day. Football, naturally, comes up: "It's not like plumbing is the family business," Howie said.

Dominating

The fear hasn't melted away yet. Midway through last season, Long became frustrated with his performance and went to his parents' house with a load of game tapes. Watching with his son, Howie noticed Chris trying new moves, not just using his quickness or hand-to-hand techniques. Howie told Chris to forget about the experiments and stick with what he does best: "Do you," he said.