Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Catch words: Langham has heard them all
A year after he stunned FSU, receiver is eager for rematch
CORAL GABLES — Even though he wants to look forward, Darrell Langham can’t help but smile when he talks about the catch, that improbable, indelible, unforgettable catch.
It came last October, with just six seconds left in the latest installment of the Miami-Florida State rivalry. And it happened while Langham — who had spent most of the game on the bench — was defended by an All-American, Florida State cornerback Tarvarus McFadden.
In so many ways, it was an impossibly difficult play. Still, Langham made it. And when he did, he lifted Miami to a stunning
24-20 win over Florida State, ending a seven-year streak of frustration for Miami in the process.
No wonder it’s all anyone wanted to ask Langham about for weeks.
“A lot of people brought it up,” said Langham, who had all of three catches at Miami before that fateful grab. “I kind of just smiled and laughed about it because every other day, it would come up. I just kind of got used to it.”
With the 17th-ranked Hurricanes (4-1, 1-0 ACC) and the Seminoles (3-2, 1-2) set to meet again on Saturday (3:30, ABC-TV) — this time at Hard Rock Stadium — Langham finds himself again answering questions about that remarkable moment.
But these days, the former Santaluces High standout can talk about plenty more big moments in his Miami career.
A week after making that catch against Florida State, he made another key fourth-quarter grab, this time against Georgia Tech. He finished 2017 having played in all 13 of Miami’s games and averaging 19 yards per catch.
These days, with fellow receiver Ahmmon Richards sidelined because of a
bone bruise, Langham has become a reliable contributor for the Hurricanes.
He snared three passes from first-time starter N’Kosi Perry in Miami’s 47-10 win over North Carolina last week. He’s averaging more than 21 yards per catch, and through five games Langham is already more than halfway to matching his 209-yard receiving total from 2017.
The 6-foot-4 redshirt senior is one of the veterans in a receivers corps filled with young, talented players. Since making that catch, he has earned the trust of not only his teammates, but his coaches, several of whom have used his experience in last year’s FSU game as a teaching tool for players frustrated with their lack of playing time.
“He didn’t play many plays that game, got in there and made the biggest play of the game and the biggest play of the series in a long time for us,” Hurricanes coach Mark Richt said. “I know his confidence went up and our confidence in him went up. Darrell is a really good football player and a guy that we trust.”
Added Miami offensive coordinator Thomas Brown, “It shows for anybody that you’re never out of it. I think he played two snaps the entire game and never went into the tank. Had a good attitude, was focused the entire time and made one of the biggest plays in that rivalry, at least in recent history, at least for us. Having to go from everybody screaming and yelling and them chanting like the game was over to complete silence, pretty cool thing.”
With the last four games in the Miami-Florida State series being decided by a combined 14 points, Langham and the rest of the Hurricanes say that while they hope it doesn’t come down to it, they understand a play like his could make the difference again on Saturday afternoon.
If it does, Langham is confident the Hurricanes will again, deliver.
And he knows it will be just as meaningful as his touchdown catch because this time around, the Hurricanes are looking to snap another losing streak to the Seminoles, with Miami not having beaten FSU in Miami since 2004.
“We’re going to have to fight the whole game,” Langham said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s me or anybody else on that team. I know someone’s going to step up and perform the way I did. I have faith in my team.”