Darrell Langham has blossomed right before our eyes.
In just a few weeks, the Santaluces 2014 alum has gone from being considered as an afterthought to perhaps the most productive wide receiver at Miami. He has caught six passes for 123 yards in the past two games (one catch, 23 yards, game-winning touchdown in 24-20 win over Florida State in Oct. 7; five catches, career-high 100 yards, touchdown in 25-24 comeback win over Georgia Tech on Oct. 14).
Two plays have defined Langham’s meteoric rise from the ashes at Miami.
The most recent one was a thrilling fourth-down catch in the final seconds of last week’s one-point win over Georgia Tech. The other one was his 23-yard reception to the end zone against Florida State, which came with just six seconds left in the game.
Both iconic moments happened when No. 8 Miami (5-0; 3-0 in ACC) was trailing its opponent and seemingly on the ropes. Both iconic moments have played a big role in Miami’s decision to name Langham a team captain for Saturday’s (Oct. 21; 3:30 p.m. kickoff on ESPN) game against ACC opponent Syracuse (4-3; 2-1 in ACC).
“I’m just in the right spot at the right time,” Langham said. “Working in practice every day, we’re doing fade routes, we’re just going for the ball. Coach [Ron Dugans] always tells us to go for the ball, never wait for the ball to come to us.”
Miami head coach Mark Richt spoke at length about Langham’s progress in his weekly press conference on Tuesday (Oct. 17).
“It [Langham’s progress] was gradual,” Richt said. “I think he understood what we were wanting from him, and wanting from him on a consistent basis. To catch that crossing route in the rain [against Georgia Tech], when Malik [Rosier] threw it, I was like, there’s no way with a wet ball anybody is going to grab that thing. He used all 6-5 of himself and snatched it. If you notice, on that play and [the play where] he caught a seam route where a safety bounced off of him and he kept going. He’s now catching it expecting to tuck it and get yards after the catch. That’s just the next phase of confidence and the next phase of coming a big-time player.”
Miami offensive coordinator Thomas Brown delved further on how Langham has come along this year.
“I’m so proud of that dude,” Brown said. “He’s obviously come a long way from last year. He was a guy that we had high hopes for. You can obviously see his size and catch radius and I’m not sure if it was confidence deal last year or what it was, but he just didn’t play on a consistent basis like he is right now. I think he’s playing at a high level right now. He’s take coaching really well right now from Coach (Ron) Dugans and he continues to work every day.”
Langham said he feels more confident in his game now.
“It kind of feels good now because all that hard work I put in is actually showing,” Langham said. I just have to keep my head straight and keep pushing through.”
In all honesty, it seemed as if Langham would never see the field and would be in a better situation by simply transferring from Miami. But he never considered it, and it happened to be the best decision for him to date.
“My parents always told me to never quit and always fight through,” Langham said.
The 6-4, 220-pound wideout has been continuously working on his relationship with junior quarterback Malik Rosier.
“He’s been picking me up saying you got this keep fighting, go for the ball,” Langham said. “I’ll put it in the right spot just go for it.”
In five games played, Langham has nine catches for 188 yards and three touchdowns. Those stats don’t seem like much, but it’s relatively significant in his case.
In a year’s time, Langham went from zero to hero in more ways than one. And now, the Palm Beach County product can be proud of the fact he’s now a captain due to his exponential growth.
“Being captain is based on performance on the field, in practice, in the classroom, and he’s earned the right as much as anybody on the offensive football team to be that guy,” Richt said. “Obviously he made this great catch against Florida State on [his] second play of the game – just to be ready, when you’re third string going into a game, and at the end of the game you make the play that everyone wants to talk about, that’s impressive. Now you become more involved. You catch five balls for 100 yards and some key catches in the rain and some drives we had to have it. To have that kind of concentration to make the play is impressive. He has always been the right kind of person, he has always been the right kind of student. But now he’s starting to do some things on the field that warrant him becoming captain.”
Fellow Palm Beach County rising star and sophomore starting running back Travis Homer kept it short and sweet when asked about Langham’s ascent to stardom.
“I can’t say anything else but it’s great,” Homer said. “Palm Beach represent, 561.”
PHOTO CREDITS: Keith Forde
