South Carolina Football: Ranking the greatest Gamecock hidden gems in NFL Draft history

South Carolina Football's Greatest NFL Draft Hidden Gems:
No. 12 Running Back/Fullback Kevin Long

Kevin Long (Round 7, Pick 195; New York Jets; 1977 NFL Draft) was part of a deadly two-headed running back monster at South Carolina along with Clarence Williams. Both players were drafted in the 1977 NFL Draft, but it was Long who became a big-time player at the professional level.

Long began his career as a running back with the Jets before shifting to fullback in his second year as a pro. The move paid off as he earned a lot of playing time thanks to his nasty blocking attitude, and when he touched the ball, he was really good. He tallied nearly 1200 yards of offense and scored 10 touchdowns in 1978.

For some reason, that was the only year of his career in which the Jets gave Long more than 11 touches per game. He was still a serviceable player the following two seasons as he scored 13 touchdowns and had over 1000 yards of offense combined. However, by the time his sixth year in the NFL came around, Long was moved back to running back and fell out of the rotation.

When the upstart USFL got going in 1983, Long joined and became one of the best backs in the entire league. With 2500 yards and 28 touchdowns in his first two years in the league, Long was a star in the USFL before things went downhill for the league in 1985.

For a 7th round fullback, Kevin Long had a great professional football career.