The Education Of Chris Long

Then Long made an interception against North Carolina , blocked a field goal against Middle Tennessee and had a safety against Maryland , each play setting up a Virginia victory. He finished the season with 14 sacks and 23 hurries and became the first Virginia player to have his jersey retired before his last game. Tiki Barber had to wait 11 years for the same honor; his Cavaliers jersey was retired on the same day as Long's.

At some point the comparisons to Howie began to fade. Even though they both played defensive end in a 3--4, Chris is clearly quicker with his feet and his hands, so much so that he's capable of becoming an outside linebacker in the NFL . Steve Rosner, who represents Howie and used to represent Lawrence Taylor , turned to Howie during a game at Virginia last fall and told him, "Chris is as close to Lawrence Taylor as anybody I've ever seen."

In January, Howie walked into a meeting with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and was greeted by the league's executive vice president, Joe Browne . "It's great to finally meet Chris Long 's father," Browne said.

THE MIAMI DOLPHINS , who have the first pick in the draft, will have all the intelligence they need on Chris. Their new executive vice president is Bill Parcells , under whom Groh worked as an assistant during Parcells's stints with the New York Giants , New England Patriots and New York Jets . Groh has told Parcells, "He's your kind of player."

The evidence is in the anecdotes. After Chris was honored as the ACC Defensive Player of the Year in December, he flew home from the awards banquet with Virginia sports information director Jim Daves. During a layover in Philadelphia they learned that the Cavaliers would play Texas Tech in the Gator Bowl . Chris grabbed Daves's laptop computer, called up the Texas Tech website and clicked on the bio of left tackle Rylan Reed. Daves asked him why. "Because he's got my lunch money," Chris responded.

Virginia lost to Texas Tech 31--28; but even before the game began, Long had impressed Reed. "When you watch film, it can be kind of boring," says Reed. "But it was actually fun watching Chris Long . The guy won't quit. He thinks he's going to make every play. He will not accept getting beat. It was really an honor to be on the field with him."

There are other candidates to go No. 1 in the draft this year, including Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan and Michigan tackle Jake Long . Chris met Jake (the two are not related) at an all-star camp and keeps his number 77 Michigan jersey tacked to a wall in his apartment, alongside posters of Allen Iverson , Muhammad Ali and Ray Lewis . "I don't know of a player in this draft who has no negatives," says Gil Brandt , draft analyst for NFL.com and former vice president of player personnel for the Dallas Cowboys . "Except Chris Long ."

While many prospects prepare for the draft at training centers in Miami , Arizona and Southern California , Long is shuttling between New Jersey , where Rosner is handling his business affairs, and Charlottesville , where he shares a duplex with nine teammates. The floor is strewn with laundry and Entenmann's boxes. He's still a college kid, even though he's no longer enrolled.

Chris's tour of Charlottesville is nothing like his father's tour of Charlestown . He passes bookstores, caf�s and record shops. He pauses at Littlejohn's, a deli that serves a sandwich named after former Cavaliers basketball star Ralph Sampson . The owner, Chris Strong, says he's planning a new foot-long hot dog in honor of Chris.

The tour ends at Wayside, a chicken shack just off campus with the slogan, "This chicken 'clucks' for you." Wayside is the kind of place where you order at the counter and ask for extra napkins. After returning from the NFL combine in Indianapolis last week, Chris figured he could indulge in a little grease. Wayside was his first stop. He ordered a box of 16 fried drumsticks and ate about 10 of them.