FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- With a father who would later be elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, one might think Chris Long pursuing a career in the NFL was always part of the master plan. But it wasn’t.

“Football, for me, wasn’t a foregone conclusion,” Long said this week, highlighting the value of kids keeping their mind open. “My parents didn’t force me into it, and quite the opposite happened. So it’s a good strategy. Give people freedom. It wasn’t like I loved football from 12 on. It took time.”

The game has taken the 31-year-old Long on quite a ride, and 2016 has represented a new beginning for him with the New England Patriots. His presence has been lauded by coach Bill Belichick, defensive coordinator Matt Patricia and others.

Long has played in all eight games, with seven starts, in helping the Patriots open the season with a 7-1 record. He has totaled 390 defensive snaps (70 percent), and has been credited with 13 tackles and one sack, while also being praised for unsung work that doesn’t show up on the stat sheet.

He shares his “football journey” as part of a weekly ESPN.com feature:

Early years of playing football at age 12: “It was just something kids were doing and I was big, so I figured I’d go out for it. Honestly, the first year, I weighed too much so I couldn’t play with the kids my age. I played with the older kids and was pretty bad. I played defensive line and offensive line.”

Favorite teams and players growing up in Charlottesville, Virginia: “I liked the Raiders when my dad [Howie] played. I obviously thought the world of my dad, but my dad did a good job of keeping things -- he was my dad first. I was a Panthers fan growing up, being close to Carolina. Around the time my dad retired, there was a lag there and I decided on a new team when they were an expansion team [in 1995]. I was like a fanatic. So I really liked Julius Peppers, Kevin Greene, Mike Rucker. I loved that D-line. They were fun to watch.”

Favorite memories of St. Anne’s-Belfield High School: “Just the brotherhood. My high school coach, John Blake -- who is still doing it -- is a tremendous coach and leader. He’s a little understated about it, but he showed a lot of strength and was a positive example. Then winning the state championship senior year. We worked a long time, we got close a lot, but then my last game of high school, state championship, it was awesome. It’s the last thing I won [laughing].”

Enrolling at the University of Virginia: “First, it was my hometown. I wanted to stay home and talking to Coach [Al] Groh convinced me of that. I committed as a junior. I wasn’t sure how good I was going to be. Really, over that time, I got real close with Coach Groh and I love that program, those coaches. We had a really tight bond. The relationships were amazing and I’m still very close with a lot of guys there. We had a good little run there; didn’t quite turn the corner. It’s hard at Virginia because you’re trying to really balance academics and athletics, so it was tough.”

Top football memory at Virginia: “Best win was probably beating Maryland at Maryland senior year. It was an ESPN Classic type game -- I know I’m biased -- but that was a crazy game. We were down double-digits, came back, and ended the game with an eight-minute touchdown drive. With no time left on the clock, [Mikell Simpson] jumped over the pile from the 1-yard line to get in. He got knocked off and the ball came out, and they’re reviewing it, and it’s like a five-minute lull, dead silence, and they come out and announce it was a touchdown. Nothing better than winning on the road in college.”

Entering the NFL draft and being picked No. 2 overall: “I knew it was going to be tough. I wasn’t as much excited as I was feeling challenged by it, because I didn’t feel like I earned anything. It was an opportunity. I knew I was going to go a struggling team. I didn’t know it was going to take that much time out of my career. But everything happens for a reason.”

Eight years with the Rams, when the team went 39-88-1: “I absolutely loved so many of my teammates. I talked to one of them [the other] night, William Hayes, he’s one of my best friends. I got a lot of love for those guys. This is a tough business and I certainly saw a lot of that there. I think more than anything, there were a lot of ups and downs there. One thing I take pride in is that I never cracked and stopped playing hard. There’s something to be said for that, because life doesn’t always throw the best situations at you. That was kind of a lesson I learned there.”

Top football memory in St. Louis: “We were really a tough, physical football team; our defense at many points over the last couple years there was fun to be a part of. We had it really going and it just kind of fell apart with injuries. More than anything, my best memory is that D-line. We were so close. We were like brothers. We just couldn’t keep it together.”

Released by the Rams for salary-cap reasons and signing with the Patriots on March 18, 2016: “I just wanted to go to a team that gave me the best chance to win, because it’s something I’ve never done. Whatever it took to be on the field, whether that’s playing out of my natural position, or doing a little bit of stuff I’ve never done, I was willing to do that and I’m still willing to do that. Obviously I have a great amount of respect for Bill [Belichick], so talking to him, he was real cool about it. Straight up. That’s how it happened.”

What he loves about football: “I don’t love it most days, but I love the challenge of it. It tests you as a man and it tests your fortitude, what’s between your ears, not your physical toughness.”

Using football as a platform to help others: “For me, it’s that you have this little time period to make a difference as a pro athlete. For a while, I wanted to do things anonymously; I hated getting publicity for stuff. But then I realized eventually that as a necessary [step] if you want to make a change. It’s been true. We’ve raised almost $1 million and provided clean water for thousands and thousands of people, and we will continue to. It’s something I want to do for a long time.”

Role models growing up: “It’s simple, but my dad was a big one for me. I think of other positive examples. My Little League coach, Chris Miller, who I remember and still talk to some. [High School coach] John Blake. For me, I was always a bright kid, but I had trouble in school. Athletics were a way for me to kind of escape that. Those guys were real positive influences and took me for what I was, which was just a kid, a boy. I’d struggle through the day in school and then get to go practice and found some peace in that.”

Summing up his football journey: “At the end of the day, you just have to be able to look yourself in the mirror and say, ‘I never cracked and I was always the same guy.’ I’ve always tried to be same guy. The chapter is not over. It’s a short period of your life, so you have to make the most of it. But I hope I can end it on the right note.”