Tuesday, May 1, 2012, – PARIS, FRANCE – Chinese kicker LONG DING, who first played American Football in the United States in 2007 as a member of the IFAF / USA Football International Student Program, will participate in rookie mini-camp this weekend as a tryout player with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Long, who hails from Qing Dao, came to the attention of NFL scouts when he attended the NFL Regional Combine in New York and was then invited to the NFL Super Regional Combine in Detroit.
He enjoyed a stellar career at Norwich University where he was twice named Eastern Collegiate Football Conference Special Teams' Player of the Year, gained all-New England Football Writers Association and D3football.com all-region accolades and the October Fred Mitchell Award recognized his off-field contributions.
Long's signing comes as IFAF (International Federation of American Football) appointed a Country Administrator in China, responsible for overseeing the creation of a national governing body and establishing a development plan for youth and amateur American football. Earlier this month, an IFAF delegation met with top Sports Governance Officials, Corporate executives and community leaders in Beiging, Wuhu and Shanghai.
Long initially traveled 7,000 miles from his home in China in 2007 to study and play football at the New Hampton School in New Hampshire. His only prior kicking experience had been at a NFL-organized camp in his homeland.
That rookie season he made 21 of 26 extra point attempts and six of eight field goals. Defensively, he collected 19 tackles including 6 for a loss of yards and had three sacks.
Long then studied and played football for two years at Dean College, winning a Northeast Football Conference championship in 2008 and 2009 and he was named MVP of the 2010 NJCAA Bowl Game and was selected as an all-conference kicker.
He concluded his Norwich University career by successfully converting 11 consecutive field goals and 14 extra points in a row. He ended the 2011 season as the Maroon and Gold's leading scorer with 73 points and was the ECFC leader in made field goals and field goal and extra point accuracy as well as ranking in the top 20 of Division III in field goals per game.
About IFAF:The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) unites 62 countries on six continents through a burgeoning international sport. With national football federations in existence for more than 75 years, IFAF was created in 1998 to organize and further develop the game through international cooperation and global competition. The IFAF office is located near Paris, France.
