Not Long-ing for NFL Dreams, BC's Tight End Declares

For three years, Hunter Long patrolled the Boston College offense as the silent assassin. He was 'The Asset', the character in the Jason Bourne franchise who executed his job with lethal efficiency and quiet confidence. His stoic personality spoke more to his job on the field and how he morphed into a dual-threat tight end, and his steady presence anchored the offense through the turbulent ride of 2020.

Maybe that's why it made sense for the unassuming tight end, The Asset, to very subtly announce his intention to forego his senior season and enter the NFL Draft process this offseason.

"It's not a decision I took lightly," Long said. "At the end of the season, I knew I was ready to take the next step. The culture of this team is something special, and it was hard for me to decide to leave. At the end of the day, I made the best decision for myself. I'm excited for the next level and the next step."

Long arrived at Boston College in 2017 as a tight end anomaly. He was a tall, lanky player who caught 508 yards and two touchdowns in high school, and the No. 49 tight end in the nation according to Scout.com. He was a USA Today all-state second team selection and a two-way player on the defensive line, and his physical profile matched the new brand of tight end introduced to BC by players like Tommy Sweeney.

He was an intriguing, high-rated local product, a kid from New Hampshire who played his high school football at Deerfield Academy in Western Massachusetts, but he was raw and required refinement within an offensive system. For his first three years, including a redshirt season in 2017, that meant converting him to more of a pass blocker in front of BC's dynamic running game.

Then-head coach Steve Addazio brought Long along slowly in the system and introduced him in stages. The tight end turned heads in preseason scrimmages, but remained a primary blocker in his first 12 games in 2018. He caught four passes that year, all for extended yardage and most notably for a 26-yard touchdown in BC's win against Louisville. He likewise caught balls against UMass and Holy Cross, and he finished the year with two touchdowns on four receptions.

It teased a breakout in 2019, and Long responded with a team-high 509 yards on 28 catches with two touchdowns. He caught four balls in the season-opening game against Virginia Tech and once again torched Louisville, this time for a 72-yard touchdown as part of a 99-yard day. He did the same two weeks later against NC State when his 51-yard reception paced an 84-yard game, and he was responsible for the Eagles' go-ahead touchdown in their bowl-clinching victory at Pittsburgh.

He was a unique presence and an intriguing prospect at the time, but his national breakout didn't happen until BC changed its offensive mindset with Jeff Hafley's arrival this past year. New offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti completely changed the offense to a pro style, pass-first tempo, and new quarterback Phil Jurkovec developed instant chemistry with his tight end. They exploded for 25 completions in BC's first three games and added another six in the team's fourth game against Pittsburgh, and three 90-yard performances established the tight end as one of the best overall receivers in the nation.

He ultimately finished the year with more catches and receiving yards than any other tight end in the nation, and his five touchdowns is eighth entering championship weekend. In his last game as an Eagle, he broke the 100-yard barrier as part of a larger, 520-yard performance by quarterback Dennis Grosel, a number that tied Doug Flutie for most passing yards in program history in a single game. His 57 receptions on the season likewise placed him second all-time among single-season BC tight end receptions, sandwiched between two years by former legend Pete Mitchell.

"In my mind, I had the best of both worlds," Long said. "I had a run-heavy scheme where I put my nose into every block and developed better as a good blocker. This year, we opened up the playbook and threw the ball more, which was fun. I feel very fortunate for that."

Long now enters the NFL Draft as one of the top-rated tight ends in his draft class. He ranks fifth in a class headlined by Kyle Pitts, a presumed first round pick at Florida. Two other ACC tight ends are also currently ahead of him, including Virginia Tech's James Mitchell, but Long possesses better numbers than both him and Miami's Brevin Jordan. He is physically bigger than both, and his profile is nearly identical to Pitts, the gold standard for this year's tight end draft class.

Projecting where Long will fall ultimately lands on his performance in the coming months of preparation. NFL teams selected 12 tight ends last year beginning with Notre Dame's Cole Kmet in the second round, and four tight ends went in the third round, including two to Long's hometown New England Patriots.

There have also been 12 Boston College alumni drafted since 2016, but only three went later than the fifth round. Fellow tight end Tommy Sweeney was one of those, but the 2019 seventh-round pick earned playing time last season with the Buffalo Bills after battling his way into the lineup. He caught eight passes for 114 yards in six games and entered this season considered as one of the top prospects on the team, but a bout with myocarditis after a COVID-19 diagnosis sidelined him in October.

Sweeney is now the rare case of a hidden BC gem discovered in the late rounds as more NFL teams tune into the success stories at Alumni Stadium. Almost all of those BC alumni continue to excel on NFL rosters, and the last three drafts produced either a first or second round pick for BC. Last year, AJ Dillon went in the second round after Chris Lindstrom was a first round pick in 2019, and Harold Landry's 2018 selection stamped a greater run of five straight drafts with a pick no later than the third round.

"I reached out to both AJ (Dillon) and Tommy," Long said. "I reached out to (New England Patriots tight end) Jake (Burt). They gave me some great feedback and made my decision easier.

"It had a lot to do with my performance this year," he said, "but it was a lot of things. Performance helped, and I had the season I wanted to have. That made the decision a little easier mentally to have. I took nearly 800 snaps this year, and it was a lot on my body. I think this was just the perfect time (to declare for the NFL Draft)."

Not Long-ing for NFL Dreams, BC's Tight End Declares

Players Mentioned

AJ Dillon

Dennis Grosel

Phil Jurkovec

Harold Landry

Chris Lindstrom

Hunter Long

Tommy Sweeney

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