Mel Long

Who is Mel Long?

Mel Long is a former American football defensive tackle. He played college football at Toledo and high school football for Macomber. In 1998 he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. The 6-1, 230-pound Long played defensive tackle and was a two-time All-America, a First-team in 1970 and a consensus selection in 1971. Long was selected in the 11th round of the 1972 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns and played for them three seasons.

Long enrolled at the University of Toledo as a Vietnam War veteran, a Marine with combat decorations. Toledo led the nation in defensive statistics all three years. Toledo won the conference all three years and won the Tangerine Bowl all three seasons as well. The 1969 team went 11-0 and beat Davidson 56-35 in the Tangerine Bowl. The following season, their record was 12-0 with a 40-12 victory over William & Mary in the 1970 Tangerine Bowl. And in 1971, it was 12-0 and victory over Richmond in the Tangerine Bowl.