JMU's Matthews considers prep school CB a steal -- By Craig Juer (Daily Staff Writer)
HARRISONBURG — Sometimes, timing is everything.
If defensive back Kerby Long, the prize of James Madison's recruiting class, had gone to college as soon as he graduated from Arlington's Yorktown High, he would have ended up at a Division II school.
If he had played cornerback from the start of his post-graduate season at Fork Union Military Academy, word about his coverage abilities likely would have gotten out sooner, and he might be preparing to play for a BCS power.
If Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen had show interest in him as early as JMU's Mickey Matthews did, there's a good chance the Terps would be celebrating his letter of intent this week.
Instead, Matthews and the Dukes giddily landed Long during national signing day Wednesday.
"I had D-2 offers," Long said via e-mail Friday from Fork Union, where students are not permitted to have cell phones. "But I knew I was better than that. I wanted to play D-1A or AA, so I came here to get my grades up and play another year of football to get to a better level."
At Fork Union, he made cameo appearances at quarterback, but didn't play cornerback until the season's seventh game, earning mop-up duty in a 74-24 victory against Averett's junior varsity.
Long was an instant hit, returning his first interception 60 yards for a touchdown and his second 102 yards for a score.
"He had like five picks in three games [at cornerback] — and three of those for touchdowns," said JMU offensive line/tight ends coach Chris Malone, a former Fork Union assistant who was Long's principal recruiter. "At Fork Union, he played three games at corner. And that's all we needed to see."
Long's teammate at Fork Union, cornerback Kareem Jackson, signed with Alabama on Wednesday.
"I think [Long is] better than that kid," Malone said. "That's my personal opinion."
Both Long and his father, George, said JMU's early interest gave the Dukes the edge over Maryland — the most reputable of Long's suitors, which also included Rhode Island, Hampton, Akron and Bowling Green.
"Some of [the other offers] came in late; he started to think they didn't get the guy they wanted so they came after him," George Long said. "But JMU was there from the start."
Another factor was the lure of Bridgeforth Stadium's dazzling facilities, which gave the campus a much-needed facelift when they were completed in 2005.
"To get a good football player when I came here, you had so much to overcome," Matthews said. "We had no facilities. I would look at the fountain eight times on Saturday when we're driving around. Some of these recruits thought we had eight fountains because every time we'd look [at it], I'd go, 'Isn't that fountain pretty over there?' And then we'd look at it a different way: 'Isn't that fountain pretty?'
"We never could show them our locker room. I don't think any of the kids we won the national championship with ever saw our locker room because I was afraid they'd walk off after they saw it."
Now, the locker room, weight room and football offices are an asset.
"A guy like Kerby, he sees the facility where he's going to dress, where he's going to lift weights, where he's going to do his academics; when you have a facility like that, you're able to secure a guy like that and sign him," Matthews said. "This building is such a tremendous help. It helps you close the deal much earlier."
Still, Matthews admitted it was hard to believe he had a shot at Long and the late-bloomer's athleticism and speed, which George Long said was as good as 4.21 seconds in the 40-yard dash.
"Coach Malone kept saying, 'Coach, we're going to get him, we're going to get him,'" Matthews said. "And I kept saying, 'Yeah, right.'"
On Dec. 8, Long and his parents came to Harrisonburg for his official visit.
"They really liked it here," Matthews said. "His dad said, 'This is where we're coming.'"
As much as Matthews liked hearing that, he still thought it was too good to be true. Long verbally committed that day, but verbal commitments are often made to be broken.
"I didn't think they were lying, but did I think that would hold up? No," Matthews said. "It would not have surprised me if I had gotten a phone call in the past week that a really big BCS school had came to get him — because he's that good."
When Long kept his word and signed with JMU, it was a major coup for the Dukes, not to mention validation for Matthews' fearless approach to recruiting.
"I really don't care how many are recruiting them; we do our own evaluations," Matthews said. "If they've got 10 places to go, that's fine — or if they've got no places. If they're a good player, we're going to try to get them."
But as much as Matthews' recruiting prowess, the shiny new facilities and JMU's early interest helped bring Long to Harrisonburg, the biggest factor was lucky timing.
"What we do as a I-AA program is hope the D-I's don't find guys like Kerby," Malone said. "If you want to be successful, you want to get the guys that are I-A guys that slipped through the cracks, and we felt like he's one of those guys.
