Longa leaving early for NFL Draft, talks decision

Rutgers junior linebacker Steve Longa has played his last down of college football as he announced today that he will forgo his final year of eligibility and declare for the 2016 NFL Draft.

Longa told Scarlet Nation what went into his decision.

"I sat down with my parents and talked about the whole situation. Then, I looked at myself and asked if I am ready to play at the next level. It was time to do it so I did it."

Longa also received feedback from the NFL Draft Board Advisory, but did not wish to reveal the exact details of that report.

He has registered more than 100 tackles over the last three seasons and lined up at both middle linebacker (1 season) and weak side linebacker (two seasons) as a three-year starter. Longa's body of work told him what he needed to know about this decision to enter the NFL Draft.

"I never thought about it during the season though," Longa admitted. "It is something that just came up. The decision was not made until after the season. The main thing was I ready to play football at the next level. It was my time, so why wait."

As far as where Longa will wind up getting drafted, he talked about the possibilities.

"I have no expectations, I know I can play football wherever I get drafted. I don't have any control over where I get drafted. I am just going to work."

In the middle of his junior year of high school, Longa started to gain more notoriety coming out of the lightly recruited group 1 Saddle Brook. He started to rack up offers and committed to Rutgers before the end of his junior year had concluded.

At that time, he held a dozen total offers with more likely on the way.

"I want to thank God first and foremost. I never thought I was going to end up here," Longa said. "It is not something that I planned. God had a plan and I just followed. Every day I am thankful for it."

Longa also commented on some of his fondest memories of playing college football at Rutgers.

"I remember when I first got laid out by D.C. Jefferson and by Tyler Kroft. They showed me how much I had to learn and how much I had to grow. And then beating Michigan last year with the students rushing the field and all the crowd rushing the field and the emotion of our first Big Ten win. That was pretty amazing too."