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 | Position:
Strength and Conditioning
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| Alma Mater:
Wayne State, 1981
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Paul Longo enters his sixth season alongside Brian Kelly as speed, strength, and conditioning coach for football.
Longo, who was named Cincinnati's director of football strength and conditioning in January, 2007, oversees the weight training and conditioning efforts for UC's football program.
UC has become one of the top closing teams in the country under the direction of Kelly and Longo. Dating back to the 2007 International Bowl, the Bearcats are 21-0 when entering the fourth quarter with a lead. When leading after halftime, UC is 19-2.
A recipient of the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association's Master Strength Coach Award, which is the highest achievement in the field, in May, 2001, Longo spoke at the 1993 National Strength and Conditioning Association convention on "Functional Speed Development for Football."
A 22-year coaching veteran, Longo has produced eight NFL Draft picks during his tenure at UC, including a school-record six picks in 2009. Connor Barwin (second), Kevin Huber (fifth), DeAngelo Smith (fifth), Brandon Underwood (sixth), Mike Mickens (seventh), and Trevor Canfield (seventh) were part of the 2009 draft class while Haruki Nakamura (sixth), and Angelo Craig (seventh) were selected in 2008.
Prior to joining the Bearcats, Longo worked with Kelly at Central Michigan where he mentored six NFL draft choices in his three years with the Chippewas, and won the 2006 Mid-American Conference Championship.
Longo served alongside legendary Iowa head coach Hayden Fry as strength and conditioning coach from June, 1988 until January, 1999. He played a key role in the Hawkeyes' development during the program's 1990 Big Ten championship season.
While working with the Hawkeyes, Longo was a part of seven bowl trips, including two stops at the Sun Bowl, and one appearance each in the Rose Bowl, Peach Bowl, Alamo Bowl and the Holiday Bowl.
During his tenure with the football team, the Hawkeyes had more than 80 players drafted into the NFL. The victorious 1996 Alamo Bowl team had 19 former walk-ons on its 65-man squad.
A four-year starter on the Wayne State football team and twice its MVP, Longo set season and career receiving records. He was in training camps as a free agent with four professional teams in three different leagues.
Longo, who was a first-team all-state selection at Sterling Heights Stevenson (Wisc.) in 1976, began his professional career as an assistant strength and conditioning coach at Wisconsin in March, 1987, before moving to Iowa in 1988.
