Arkansas tight ends coach leaves for Illinois

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

— Arkansas graduate assistant Chip Long is headed to Illinois to join former Arkansas assistant Paul Petrino.

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Chip Long

Illinois made Long's hiring official in an announcement Wednesday afternoon. Long spent two seasons at Arkansas coaching tight ends as a graduate assistant. Razorbacks tight end D.J. Williams became the first semifinalist in school history for the Mackey Award in 2008 under Long's guidance.

Long is set to start his new job at Illinois immediately.

"Chip is an outstanding young coach," Illinois Coach Ron Zook said in a statement. "He is very knowledgeable of our offense after his experience with Paul Petrino. He's played the position at high level. Chip brings great energy to an already energized staff."

Petrino served as Arkansas' offensive coordinator and receivers coach for two seasons before leaving his brother and Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino in December to become the offensive coordinator at Illinois.

Long previously spent two seasons at Louisville and worked with the wide receivers and quarterbacks.