Football
Favorite athlete: Derek Jeter
Favorite team: New York Giants
Favorite memory competing in sports: Scoring two TDs vs PW this year
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: I got hit with a comebacker while pitching, threw it to first, passed out, and then got up wondering if we got the out. Also, I kept my gum.
Music on iPod: Classic Rock; ACDC and the Rolling Stones
Future plans: Join the Army
Words to live by: “Don’t compete against anybody but yourself”
One goal before turning 30: Graduate from college
One thing people don’t know about me: I like to split and stack wood on the weekends
By Gordon Glantz
There are times when Pat Lang mans his battle station on the sidelines and can’t help but let his mind briefly drift through the what-if scenarios.
The senior will size up opposing quarterbacks and know that if he gone to that school, instead of Council Rock North, he might be out there taking varsity snaps underneath the Friday night lights that illuminate the nation’s scholastic football landscape.
But his time and place is at a school where the starting quarterback happens to be one of the best in the state, if not the nation, in fellow senior and South Carolina-commit Brandon McIlwain.
“Absolutely,” confirmed the thoughtful Lang, when asked if the possibilities of a chance to play in some alternate universe don’t run through his mind. “But, somebody has to be the backup, and backing up a guy like Brandon has made me better.
“That is a motto, if you will, of our football team. There's always going to be someone taller, stronger, faster, better than you are, and you have to focus on making yourself better rather than comparing yourself to others. Especially with Brandon, he's my impetus to get myself better, even if I know I'm not going to start.
“Football is a big part of my life, but other things are just as important. I enjoy playing (football) with my friends. If I were at another school, I wouldn’t have been able to do that all these years.”
The last few years, Lang found himself under center for the junior varsity team. As a senior, though, he has relinquished that role to underclassmen. He has also given up the fun task of signaling in plays during games, as he is the true No. 2 this year and has to say loose and ready to replace McIlwain – even if it’s for a play – on no notice.
“JV was great,” said Lang, whose 2015 playing time came in preseason scrimmages and continues while running the scout team in practice. “I would play it again, if they would let me. In past years, I was in charge of the signals but now I have to be ready, even if Brandon has something wrong with his helmet and has to come out for just a play. By running the scout team, I try to give the best look to the defense that I can. We have a pretty sweet setup for the signalers. The JV quarterbacks do that now. They want me to be ready at all times.”
The Univest Featured Male Athlete of the Week and West Point applicant’s positive attitude and willingness to embrace his role is not lost on his coach, Adam Collachi.
“Pat is our backup quarterback, and even though he may not be the starter each week, he prepares himself as a starter and is ready to play at a moment’s notice,” said the coach, using the word “leader” to describe Lang.
Lang’s stature – 5-10 “on a good day” and 140 pounds (the result of rigorous lifting to add 10 pounds) – precluded a permanent position change (although he has gotten looks at receiver and defensive back).
But his intensity and competiveness in the offseason, whether in the weight room or a passing league or a scrimmage, has made him as much one of the key figures on the team as a star.
“There is always that,” said Lang, who describes himself as a dual-threat quarterback who “doesn’t like to hang in the pocket” if a play breaks down. “I know what they are going through.
“Everybody wants to be noticed once in a while. Doing well in the preseason is no different than doing well in the Super Bowl.”
Because he has a close bond with teammates and takes the time to discuss their individual team goals, Lang is also a welcome buffer between the players and the coaches on the sidelines.
“I’ll get guys going by giving high-fives,” he said. “I figure that I’ve got to get myself into the game somehow.
“There are more ways of being a leader than just being out there on Friday nights. I try to be a motivator in the offseason. I find ways to lead, and to find my niche.”
Leading with Honor
Lang takes his refreshing approach to raising the bar for himself into the school community.
Up until this year, when he dropped Spanish to take an AP Physics class, he was a member of the Spanish Honors Society.
A year ago, he not only got involved in the National Honors Society, but decided – “on a whim” – to run for president.
He admits that part of the notion was to “prove something to myself.”
“I saw it as a chance to show leadership in academics,” he said. “I always felt like a leader from the back. I saw this as a chance to lead from the front, instead of in the shadows, and get my ideas heard and be able to take feedback.”
How did the newcomer to NHS ascend so quickly to the top spot?
“I think my speech really reverberated with some people,” said Lang, adding that he spoke about his unique experiences about his job that he feels is unique to the experience of the average student in the fairly affluent Newtown area.
What about the speech was different?
“I pump gas,” said Lang, who proudly adds that he checks oil and washer fluid and tire pressure at the full-service operation. “And I enjoy working at a gas station.”
Lang told the story about having to reach in the purse of a woman who didn’t want to mess up her fresh manicure.
“I don’t want this to sound hoity-toity, but Newtown is a well-off area,” he said. “My job is different, and when I tell a story like that, it made people realize just how ridiculous that sounds.”
Getting to the Point
What is not ridiculous are Lang’s aspirations behind high school. While getting into West Point is an arduous process, and one that he has just begun, he has wanted to serve his country for as long as he could remember and has positioned himself to get there.
“I was always a big military guy,” he said. “I always wanted to serve. My original goal was to join the Air Force, but I’m color blind so that’s out.”
Lang spent time this past summer at West Point and came away more inspired about becoming a cadet than ever.
“The program this summer was pretty awesome,” he said. “It was my first taste of military life and specifically academy life. We ate with the cadets, went to class, slept in barracks, and did PT. By allowing me to see what West Point was like, it heightened my interest in attending.”
He has focused in on West Point and will begin the interview phase of the application process next month, with hopes of securing a nomination from a congressman or senator.
What will be learned about Lang is that he never backs down from a challenge or runs from adversity, whether that it is carrying a course load of three AP classes – saying he didn’t “want to make senior year too easy” -- or making the most of being a backup quarterback.
The aspiring engineer, who hopes to become fluent in Spanish, carries a weighted GPA of 4.2 and hopes to build on his impressive SAT score of 2120.
“I’m blessed that God has given me the ability to remember things,” said Lang,
Lang, who is looking at a school like Virginia Tech as backup because of its strong ROTC program, says he and his sisters – Kali (freshman in college) and Charlotte (junior in high school) – were pointed in the right direction, academically, by their parents.
“My parents always made sure my sisters and I did our work and studied,” he said. “I think through that push, over time it became innate and I stopped needing reminders. I knew that being successful after school meant doing well in school.”
While Lang says his parents, Kim and Greg, have been divorced “for as long as I can remember,” both have played key roles in his life while splitting time between their homes.
He says some of his best times have been spent with his father doing simple things, like splitting wood and doing yard work.
“My views and beliefs are similar to him,” said Lang, adding that they share a love of the same sports teams, including the New York Giants.
Interestingly, one of the athletes he most admires – and identified with – is Eli Manning, the Giants’ quarterback.
“He has been overshadowed by his brother and, to some extent, his dad,” he said. “He has had some disappointments on the field, but he gets out there every week. And, you can’t buy those two (Super Bowl) rings, which are more than his brother has, despite all his touchdown passes.”
If Lang achieves his goal of getting into West Point, he may look into playing for what is called the “sprint” football team for undersized cadets.
If not, he wants to leave with a legacy as senior. That would mean a playoff win after losses the last two years and a win over bitter rival Council Rock South.
“We have never won a playoff game as Council Rock North, since the school split into two,” he said. “And it would be great to be beat South, too. It’s not going to be easy. It’s going to be tough, but we are up for the challenge.”
