Awards and Honors:
2023 First Team All-UAC (LB)
UAC Defensive Player of the Week: Nov. 13 (2023)
TSWA Defensive Player of the Week: Nov. 14 (2023)
2023: A First Team All-UAC selection, he started all 12 games at linebacker… Posted a career-best 17 tackles – the most by a Gov since 2018 – in addition to a tackle for loss and a fumble recovery in his Austin Peay debut at Southern Illinois (Sept. 2)… Had six tackles and half a tackle for loss at Tennessee (Sept. 9)… Totaled eight tackles, a pass breakup, and two quarterback hurries at Stephen F. Austin (Sept. 23)… Tallied 10 tackles against Gardner-Webb (Oct. 14)… Matched his career high with 17 tackles – including 15 solo tackles – at Southern Utah (Oct. 21)… His 15 solo tackles at Southern Utah was the best single-game total in the FCS since 2021… Added seven tackles at Eastern Kentucky (Nov. 4)… Recorded nine tackles, an interception, and two pass breakups against Utah Tech (Nov. 11) to earn UAC Defensive Player of the Week honors… Posted his fourth double-digit tackle outing – the second most by a Gov – with 11 tackles in the FCS Playoffs First Round against Chattanooga (Nov. 25)… Finished the season with 109 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, a fumble recovery, an interception, and three pass breakups… Ranked 17th in the FCS, second in the UAC, and led the Govs in total tackles… Ranked 27th in the FCS and second in the UAC with 9.1 tackles per game… Ranked seventh in the UAC and led the Govs with 43 solo tackles… His two 17-tackle outings were tied for the 17th-best single-game totals in the FCS and the third-best single-game marks in the UAC… Was one of just three players in the UAC with 100-plus tackles.
Prior to Austin Peay: Played one season at Lackawanna Community College (2019) before transferring to Norfolk State… Played two seasons at Norfolk State (2020-22), which did not participate in football during the 2020 season. 2022: Played in all 11 games… Named First Team All-MEAC… Recorded 106 tackles with six double-digit tackle outings during the season… Also had seven tackles for loss and five sacks during the season… For the second consecutive season, opened with double-digit tackles against an FBS foe, notching 11 stops and an interception at Marshall (Sept. 3)… Had 12 tackles and 1.5 sacks against Saint Francis (Sept. 24)… Scored 13 tackles the following week at Sacred Heard (Oct. 1)… Pitched in 10 tackles against Howard (Oct. 29)… Notched season-best 14 tackles against North Carolina Central (Nov. 12)… Finished the season earning MEAC Defensive Player of the Week and Pro Football Network Shrine Bowl HBCU Player of the Week honors following a 13-tackle effort at South Carolina State (Nov. 19) that included three tackles for loss, two sacks, and a forced fumble. 2021: Started all 11 games… Named Second Team All-MEAC… Led NSU and ranked fourth in the MEAC with 78 tackles… Also finished the year with 3.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, one pass breakup, one forced fumble, and two quarterback hurries… Made 11 tackles in season opener at Toledo (Sept. 4)… Posted six tackles with half a sack against Elizabeth City State (Sept. 18)… Was credited with nine tackles, half for a loss, at St. Francis (Sept. 25)… Made six stops and broke up one pass at Hampton (Oct. 2)… Named the MEAC Defensive Player of the Week after registering nine tackles, 1.5 for loss, with one sack and a forced fumble against Morgan State (Oct. 30)… Ended the year by making 29 tackles over a three-game stretch at N.C. Central (eight), Delaware State (nine) and South Carolina State (career-high, 12). 2020: Transferred to Norfolk State, which did not participate in football during the COVID-19 pandemic year. 2019: Named Second Team All-Northeast Football Conference… Recorded 53 tackles, 10 for loss, with six sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and one pass breakup on the year… Tallied 16 tackles in the NJCAA Division I National Championship game against Mississippi Gulf Coast.
High School: Was a linebacker for head coach Chris Mobley at Hughes STEM High School for final two prep seasons… Posted 122 tackles, including 15 tackles for loss, as a senior… Notched 120 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, and five sacks as a junior… Selected to play in the 2018 Ohio North vs. South All-Star Classic Football Game.
Personal: Tyler Josh Long is the son of David Long Sr. and Tonda Hill… Birthday is Sept. 17… Has six siblings: Dai’sha, Daeon, David Jr., Taylin, Daylan, and Taylor… Father, David Sr. was a professional boxer who went 12-5-2 as a heavyweight… Brother, David Jr., played linebacker at West Virginia before being drafted in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans; he now plays for the Miami Dolphins… Brother, Daylan, plays linebacker at Norfolk State… Graduated from Norfolk State in December 2022 with a bachelor’s in entrepreneurship… Pursuing a second bachelor’s in leadership science.
