Adams State signee thought to be first top-level scholarship female football player
Becca Longo is making history.
The Arizona high schooler signed with Division II Adams State on Wednesday to kick for the team. While she’s not the first female to play college football at any of the NCAA’s top two levels, she’s believed to be the first woman football player to sign a letter of intent out of high school.
She told ESPN that she wasn’t aware of her unique circumstance until her signing ceremony.
“I didn’t know that until today,” Longo told ESPN. “I’m still in shock from it. I’m just amazed.”
Longo was 30-33 on extra points in 2016 according to AZ Central and also made a 30-yard field goal. Per ESPN, she was 35-38 on PATs.
“I contacted them during the season, and after the season I got contacted back by them,” she told the AZ Central. “The offensive coordinator (Josh Blankenship), he told me he wanted me to come out for a visit.
“I went on my visit and I absolutely fell in love.”
A post shared by Becca Longo (@beccalongo5) on Sep 30, 2016 at 12:45pm PDT
Longo, 5-11, is going to play basketball at the school after playing both sports in high school. She played on the same football team as soon-to-be Arizona State quarterback Ryan Kelley, the No. 11 dual-threat quarterback in the country in the class of 2016.
Katie Hnida was the first woman to score in an FBS game when she kicked two extra points for New Mexico in 2003. Hnida was a walk-on at New Mexico after she transferred from Colorado.
In 2001, Ashley Martin became the first female to score a point in an FBS or FCS football game when she kicked an extra point for Jacksonville State. She went to JSU on a soccer scholarship and subsequently joined the football team. Prior to Martin, Liz Heaston was the only other woman to score in a college football game. She did so in 1997 while kicking for NAIA’s Willamette University.
Longo will be one of three kickers on the roster at Adams State along with sophomore Montana Gomez and fellow signee Tiago Palm. The team, which went 2-8 in 2016, attempted eight field goals last season.
More from Yahoo Sports:
• Dan Wetzel: Heartbreaking scene at Hernandez double-murder trial
• MLB player drug tested after first career grand slam
• NBA Playoffs: Full schedule for every first-round matchup
• Cubs’ World Series rings have 108 diamonds, 1 goat
– – – – – – –
Nick Bromberg is the editor of Dr. Saturday and From the Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
