long attended st. anne's-belfield school in charlottesville, virginia. as a senior in 2003, he was in on 91 tackles, 23 tackles for a loss, and 15 sacks, helping his team to an undefeated record and the state uil school championship. "he was a big gangly kid who had yet to grow into his body," said john blake, the st. anne's-belfield coach. "but he jumped in with both feet. when he played tackle, he would drive kids 10 or 15 yards down the field, like he was steering a car." he was given a 4-star ranking for college recruiting from rivals.com, a service that rated him the sixth-best defensive end in the prep ranks. he played in the 2004 u.s. army all-american bowl. long also played basketball, lacrosse, and baseball in high school.