Few true freshmen become a captain. It's hard for one to exhibit the mix of confidence and poise required to earn the respect of coaches and peers so quickly. Sure, Ethan Long arrived on campus early in January of 2019 and had a head-start on relationships with coaches and teammates, but fellow star freshman Jayden Daniels beat him out for the starting quarterback job.

So, when Long was named the special teams captain following fall camp in 2019, the hype surrounding the guy coaches called "Captain America" intensified. Former Arizona State offensive coordinator Rob Likens labeled the former three-star from West Linn, Oregon, a "one in a million player."

Long heard the praise. Maybe, he thinks, expectations for him got out of hand.

"I don't want to short come myself, but I think there was a lot of hype in being a captain, and I really didn't do too much last year," Long told Devils Digest. "I think I had one tackle on special teams. I had a couple carries, a couple plays that could've been good, but it didn't happen, that was frustrating."

While expectations for Long entering 2019 were through the roof, he enters his sophomore year with a new label and reset expectations. After a freshman season which saw him carry the ball six times for 32 yards, Long is continuing his offensive transformation to tight end in 2020.

"The biggest thing with Ethan is that he gets it," co-wide receivers coach Derek Hagan said. "He knows what's going on, and he's picking up everything pretty fast coming from quarterback to tight end. We know he's got great hands. He's got a great work ethic, and he's got a great head on his shoulders. He's attentive, he's sharp, and for us the way we look at it, there's no point in wasting his talent."

Long showcased his adaptability in his early willingness to change positions last fall, after Daniels was named the starting quarterback, and now Pittsburgh Panther quarterback Joey Yellen was named the backup.

There wasn't any time for pouting. Rather than feel sorry for himself, Long said he sought out more playing time with special teams in mind right away.

"At Camp [Tontozona], Jayden was named the starter and Joey was number two, and it was like 'time to go find some time on the field,'" said Long, who last received a rushing attempt with two carries for 10 yards in the Sun Devils' loss to Colorado at the end of September. "I went up to [special teams coach Shawn] Slocum and was like 'hey, I'm not the starter can I get on more special teams than just punt team?' and I think that's when my role really evolved."

Now, after spending his freshman year as the Sun Devils' "Sparky" direct snap quarterback and captain of the special teams' unit, Long has dropped that designation on the official roster. These days he's listed as a tight end/h-back, a role he said he's using his quarterback background to understand in new offensive coordinator Zak Hill's offense. With a youth football career filled with quarterback experience, Long noted that with his background, this position now brings him the most comfort entering the role of a receiver.

"Coach Hill is a brilliant dude," Long said. "Being able to play in his offense and the amount of complexity that comes with it and his knowledge of the game, it's fun to be a part of. My biggest comfort is from coming from [being] a quarterback. Because I know coach Hill's offense is so schematic-oriented that as a receiver, you can't just run a route. As a receiver, you're running a route for a purpose to either open somebody up, or somebody else is opening you up, and you need to know the timing of everything."

“The pass game to me seems like it comes naturally to him because he’s done that before,” Hagan said. “He’s ran routes before; he’s got good hands, he’s got good eyes got pretty good feet. It’s a transition, but it’s something that he’s been working very hard on.”

Along with his growth studying the playbook, Long said his most significant challenge is preparing his body for the physicality required of the tight end position. Informed that the ASU website had him down six pounds from 221 as a freshman year to 215 as a sophomore, Long said he was being discounted for some of his physical transformation.

“Man, they’re doing me dirty,” Long joked. “I’m trying to put on weight. I was at 224 [pounds] the other day, and I’m just trying to stay consistently above 220. Now I’m just trying to get as big as I can and carry as much weight as I can, not to get slow or anything, and I don’t think I will, but just to hold my own against bigger dudes.”

“He lifted a lot of weights in high school, and he knew what he was doing when he got here, and you can tell just by looking at him,” Hagan said. “He’s added some pounds, added some muscle, and we know Ethan’s a workout warrior, so he’s going to be prepared, and he’s going to handle any task we give him.”

By no means is Long scared of the physical nature of his new position. He says in high school; he was regularly encouraged by his coaches to take on defenders physically, a battle he won most of the time.

“When I have the ball, I’m not scared to drop my shoulder on anybody,” Long said. “If I win great. If I don’t win, I’m going to get back up again and do the same thing again.

“That’s the fun part of football.”

There was a particular oddity of being named a captain as a true freshman. Long said he made a conscious attempt to avoid rubbing older teammates the wrong way while relating to his peers in the freshman class. Still, he said he didn’t feel it changed who he was.

“I didn’t want to be looked at differently at all by my teammates,” said Long, who was named to the watch list for this season’s Wuerffel Trophy, college football’s premier award for community service. “I don’t think it changed my approach to anything because I am who I am at the end of the day, and that’s not going to change whether or not I have a captain role or ‘Captain’ on my title. This year it could be totally different, and I don’t know what’s in mind. I don’t know if I’ll be captain again. I hope I am. That’d be an honor, but if not, I’m not going to change how I lead, how I act, or the things I do.”

Long expressed a level of discontent with how he felt he contributed in 2019. As the Sun Devils get set for a COVID-shortened 2020 season, Long said he hopes people see him as a real player.

“Just seriously making a difference. To just make a true impact and not just be kind of a name like ‘oh, that’s a good dude’ or ‘I’ve heard of him before, but I’ve never really heard what he does,’” Long said is among his goals.

“I know my name’s out there, and I’m super grateful for it, but sometimes I’m like ‘man what is it out there for?’ I know I was a captain, and I tried to represent ASU as best as I can, but I also want to represent the game as well. It felt weird to be called “Captain America,” but now I can focus on stuff and not have to live up to expectations.

“I can live up to my own expectations.”

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