43 Days Away from Bama Kickoff: Antonio Langham
Each day counting down to Alabama's Week 1 matchup with Utah State, I will highlight one former player whose jersey number coincides with the amount of days until the game. Today, we take a look at the career of one of the most important players in program history, Antonio Langham.
Antonio Langham suited up for the Crimson Tide from 1990-93 on some of the most memorable teams in recent memory.
A native of Town Creek, AL, Langham was a key piece of the Alabama secondary in his time with the program, and went on to have a solid career in the NFL after his four years in Tuscaloosa.
He saw time in 10 games as a freshman in 1990, being used mostly as a reserve defensive back. In his sophomore year, Langham took over as a starter as finished the season with five interceptions, something that would become his specialty.
As a junior, Langham again served as the Tide's lockdown cornerback, guiding the team to a 13-0 record and victory in the inaugural SEC Championship game as well as the National Title.
Many Tide fans likely recall Langham's incredible performance against Florida in the 1992 SEC Championship when the corner intercepted Gator quarterback Shane Matthews to seal a Crimson Tide victory.
In his last season with the Tide, Langham put up his best numbers of his career. The Town Creek native finished with seven interceptions and secured his spot as the program leader in the category. He was named a consensus All-American and won the Jim Thorpe Award, given to the nation's top defensive back.
After his Crimson Tide career, Langham was selected in the first round of the 1994 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns who eventually moved to Baltimore and became the Ravens just two years later. Langham spent two more seasons with the franchise and then signed with the 49ers in 1998 but spent only a year in San Francisco.
The cornerback returned to Cleveland in 1999 and then ended his career the next season in New England.
Across his seven year NFL career, Langham compiled 344 tackles, 14 interceptions and 85 pass deflections.
Now, the Bama legend resides in Birmingham and runs his own company, ACL Development and Real Estate. He was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2019 and is on the 2023 College Football Hall of Fame Ballot alongside another former Tide star, Chris Samuels.
Stay locked in to Tide1009.com for the countdown to Alabama football. Check out the rest of the list here.