Former U-M cornerback David Long came to Michigan as a four-star prospect from Los Angeles in 2016, and found on Friday he’d be returning home for his professional career when the Rams selected him in the third round of the NFL draft.
After three wildly successful seasons in Ann Arbor in which Long developed into one of the game’s best cornerbacks, he admitted he’s happy to be returning home to play for the reigning NFC champions.
“It feels great,” he exclaimed on a teleconference call after being selected. “It’s a blessing. I went to school in Los Angeles, so to be able to come back home and play is incredible.
“I’m just happy and grateful the [Rams’] coaching staff believed in my talent — I actually only met with them once and didn’t really speak with them afterward.
“I knew they liked me a lot though and had a lot of interest, so it’s just a blessing to have this opportunity.”
Long explained he has already had several interactions with Los Angeles’ cornerbacks coach, Aubrey Pleasant, dating back to before the Rams even selected him.
“He was mainly just helping me with the process,” the California native explained. “They expressed their interest in me as a prospect and said they thought I could do a lot of things, but mainly just got me ready to take advantage of whatever opportunities came.
“I had really good meetings with him, and great interactions as far as what they would like me to do.”
The Rams obviously had a wildly successful season in 2018, making it all the way to the Super Bowl behind the strength of their high-powered offense.
While offense is what Los Angeles had been known for in recent years, Long explained there are plenty of things about its defense that stand out as well.
“They have [cornerback] Aqib Talib, (cornerback Nickell) Robey [-Coleman] and [cornerback] Marcus Peters — just a good group of guys in the defensive backfield,” the former U-M corner began. “Those guys bring a lot of experience to the table.
“It’ll be great learning under them and doing whatever they’ve been doing to stay in the league. A lot of those guys have had successful careers — Aqib Talib has played a long time and has had a lengthy career, so he knows what it takes.
“Marcus Peters and Robey [-Coleman] have also made plays at the NFL level, so they know how to keep the ball rolling.”
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