Veteran O-Line Coach: Guys Like Kyle Long Don't Come Along Very Often
(CBS) If you want feel good about the Bears first-round selection Kyle Long, just talk to veteran offensive line coach Tony Wise, who worked the 24-year-old offensive lineman out in preparation for the Senior Bowl.
Wise, who has been coaching offensive lineman since 1974, including a six-season stint with the Bears in the mid 1990s, had only good things to say about Long's athletic ability and potential.
"I tried to catch him up on what to expect at the Senior Bowl, the drills they do at the Senior Bowl," Wise told The Mully and Hanley Show. "I just worked some pass protection stuff (with him.) After working with him, I told people that I talked to that I'd put the guy at left tackle. He has that kind of ability. He's too downward to play guard."
Tony Wise on The Mully and Hanley Show
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In a bit of a shocking revelation, Wise even said he thinks Long, 6-foot-6, 313 pounds, has all the ability that No. 1 & No. 2 overall selections, Luke Joeckel and Eric Fisher, demonstrate.
"I don't want to insult anybody, but guards are a dime-a-dozen," Wise said. "Guys with Kyle's height and his reach and his ability to change directions and run, those guys don't come along very often. I've seen film on some of these guys, and people are going to call me crazy, but I'd stack him up against (Luke Joeckel of Texas A&M and Eric Fisher of Central Michigan). The only thing they did, is they played left tackle their entire career."
