Spencer Long

Honors & Awards

• Tom Osborne Citizenship Team (2014)
• National Football Foundation Scholar Athlete Award (1 of 16, 2013)
• Capital One/CoSIDA First-Team Academic All-American (2013)
• Academic All-District VII (2011, 2012, 2013)
• Academic All-Big Ten (2011, 2012, 2013)
• Second-Team All-Big Ten (BTN, 2013)
• Burlsworth Trophy Semifinalist (1 of 10, 2012, 2013)
• Outland Trophy Watch List (2012, 2013)
• Lombardi Award Watch List (2012, 2013)
• Team Captain (2013)
• Jake Young Memorial Scholarship (2013)
• Big Ten Distinguished Scholar (2013)
• Second-Team All-American (AP, Walter Camp Foundation, 2012)
• Third-Team All-American (Phil Steele, 2012)
• First-Team All-Big Ten (2012, Coaches, Media, BTN, CBS, ESPN, Phil Steele)
• Second-Team All-Big Ten (2011, Media, Phil Steele)
• Honorable-Mention All-Big Ten (2011, Coaches)
• Nebraska Walk-on of the Year (2011)
• Five-Time Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll Recipient
• Four-TIme Big 12 Commissionier’s Academic Honor Roll

Spencer Long had his senior season cut short after suffering a knee injury at Purdue in mid-October. Long underwent subsequent surgery and was lost for the season, but not before he left an impressive mark during his Nebraska career.

Despite missing half of the season, the senior captain continued to impact the 2013 Huskers. Long continued to provide leadership to his fellow offensive linemen, while making his mark off the field.

Long earned first-team CoSIDA Academic All-America honors to help continue the Huskers’ tradition of academic success. He was joined on the academic All-America team by his brother, Jake, a second-team honoree. The Long brothers became the third set of brothers in Nebraska history to both earn academic All-America awards, and the first to do so in the same season.

Long was also one of 16 football student-athletes to earn the prestigious National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete Awards, presented in New York City in early December. The award carried an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship, which Long intends to put toward medical school.

Originally a walk-on, Long was placed on scholarship before his junior season and earned second-team All-America honors in 2012. He was a leading contender for first-team All-America honors before his injury in 2013.

Long earned his degree in biological sciences/pre-medicine in December and was one of 19 seniors participating the bowl game as a graduate. He also earned Academic All-Big Ten honors for the third consecutive season.

2013 (Senior)
Long played in and started the first six games at right guard, before suffering a knee injury at Purdue. With Long in the lineup, Nebraska rushed for better than 250 yards in six of seven games, and averaged 284.8 rushing yards and 42.7 points per game.

2012 (Junior)
Long started every game at right guard for the second straight season. His play helped pave the way for a Nebraska offense that led the Big Ten in both rushing offense and total offense. Nebraska posted its best rushing average since 2002, as sophomore I-back Ameer Abdullah racked up 1,137 rushing yards and quarterback Taylor Martinez added 1,019 yards. Overall, Nebraska had 16 individual 100-yard rushing performances this season.

The Nebraska offense gained  better than 430 yards in 12 of 14 games and rushed for at least 250 yards eight times in 2012.

2011 (Sophomore)
Long was one of three Husker offensive linemen to start every game in 2011, and his play helped Nebraska rank 15th nationally in rushing offense at 217.2 yards per game. The Huskers topped 200 rushing yards seven times in 2011, including a trio of 300-yard games on the ground (Washington, Wyoming, and a season-high 346 yards at Minnesota).

The offensive line also played a key role in wearing down the Ohio State defense in a school-record comeback win. The Huskers rushed for 232 yards and had 423 yards of total offense against the Buckeyes, including 195 second-half rushing yards.

The work of Long and the offensive line allowed junior I-back Rex Burkhead to post 1,357 yards on the ground during the 2011 season.

2010 (Redshirt Freshman)
Long added depth in the offensive line, but did not appear in a game.

2009 (Redshirt)
A walk-on, Long redshirted in his first year at Nebraska. 

Before Nebraska (Elkhorn HS)
Long came to Nebraska from long-time prep powerhouse Elkhorn High School, where he helped the Antlers to a 7-3 record in their first season of Class A participation in 2008. Long had a strong performance as a defensive end, and was an honorable-mention all-area selection for Coach Mark Wortman. Long was also a member of the Antlers' 2008 state championship baseball team.  

Personal
Spencer is the son of Doug and Ann Long, and was born on Nov. 8, 1990. A biological sciences major, Spencer has been named to the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll each of the last four semesters, after earning spots on the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll each of his first four semesters. Long has volunteered his time with local hospital and school visits.

Long's Career Statistics

» Games Played - 33 (13 in 2011, 14 in 2012; 6 in 2013)
» Games Started - 33 (13 in 2011, 14 in 2012; 6 in 2013)