Utah tailback Harvey Langi says his Bingham HS squad from South Jordan, Utah has “four more weeks to get to the top.” Indeed, powered by the junior tailback, the Miners play their first-round playoff game Saturday afternoon against Jordan, with four more contests potentially on the horizon should Langi’s team prevail.
“If anything, I wish our season was as long as the college season,” he said of Utah football’s truncated schedule. “I would love to keep playing with these boys all the way to November 20 and that’s the championship game. But I want the seniors to leave with the ring.
“We’ve been pretty good. We’ve always been in the playoffs. Last year, we lost in the championship. The year before that, we lost in semifinals. It’s just an amazing program.”
Langi’s modesty notwithstanding, it’s not just the program which has been amazing. High school football teams are often run-heavy, and the Beehive State’s are no exception, so as the featured tailback, Langi has had ample opportunity to shine. Heading into Halloween weekend, the 6-foot-1, 208-pound junior has run for exactly 1,000 yards on 7.3 yards per carry, and caught for 253 yards, with 17 total touchdowns.
“I’m getting more experience in running the ball and trusting my line,” he said. “I run. I catch. I play quarterback in the Wildcat. Tight end, wide receiver, wherever they need me, I go.”
As a junior in the thick of high school football, Langi hasn’t seriously looked at colleges yet, though he has already received offers from Stanford, Utah, BYU, Colorado State and Wyoming.
“I’m still young and not worrying about that yet,” Langi said of college recruiting. “I just want to go to a college with a nice education and environment, and a decision will come later on. Right now, I’m focusing on the season.”
Nonetheless, Langi has more than a passing familiarity with several serious college suitors. He’s been to several Utah and BYU games, and has even been down to Stanford “a couple of times,” most recently on a Junior Day.
“I was down there for their Junior Day and it’s nice down there,” he said. “But I’m not leaning anywhere. I’ll just let my recruiting play on and play on.”
Still, though he insists he’s keeping his mind open early, Stanford made a strong favorable impression upon the then-rising junior, who practically gushes when asked about the school.
“It was amazing,” Langi said of the Junior Day. “The campus is nice and big. The schooling, of course, is great and if you go, you come out with a good education. The football team is good. I was just amazed – it was phenomenal. I’m going to keep going over there and keep checking it out. When I went over there I just had a good feeling about the beautiful buildings, the great campus and it was exciting.
I talk to all their coaches -- their running back coach [Willie Taggart], Coach Harbaugh, who is a great guy, nice, funny and very welcoming. They all were. They gave me great advice. They showed me around, showed me everything you do over there. They tried to show me most of campus but it was just too big.”
In addition to his five offers, Langi reports receiving email and snail mail from several other schools. He says LSU, Miami and Oregon have been talking frequently with him, and is hoping to receive additional offers in due time.
Academically, Langi reports a 3.8 GPA and plans on taking the ACT and SAT later this year. Suffice it to say his high school course load is challenging.
“I’m taking concurrent enrollment classes at a community college,” Langi said. “I just want to get college credits out of the way to get a head start. I’m thinking of majoring in something in business management or communications.”
College might have to wait more than 18 months, however. As a Latter Day Saint, Langi is considering taking a two-year mission before starting college, much like Stanford junior Sione Fua or commit Dallas Lloyd. Langi stresses he hasn’t decided upon whether to take a mission or not, but says finding a school understanding of his religion and a possible mission would be a plus.
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