Langham's focused on four SEC schools, sets first official visit

Malik Langham had a strong senior regular season with 82 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and nine sacks. He will play on working to add to those numbers as Huntsville (Ala.) plays in round one of the playoffs Friday night.

The 6-foot-5, 255 pounder has been a top recruit in Alabama for a couple of years now and he has balanced his school work, football and recruiting as good as he could over the past few months. His recruitment could be nearing an end as he has cut his list down to four schools.

"I am really trying to get closer to a decision right now," said Langham. "I am really only looking at Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Ole Miss and Kentucky now. I am pretty sure it will be one of those schools when I make my mind up.

"I am not sure if I will take official visits to all four schools or not. I will just see how I feel because if I feel like I am ready, then I will just commit."

Only one official visit has been scheduled thus far and that is to Vanderbilt the weekend of December 9. This will be his fourth visit to Nashville, so he knows a lot about the Commodores.

"The last time I was there was for the Alabama game and I visited two times before that, so I am familiar with the school and the program. I stay in contact with the coaches there too. I talk to head coach Derek Mason and defensive line coach [C.J.] Ah You daily.

"They make me feel like a priority to them and I feel like a guy they really want. I like how they are recruiting me, the academics there are great and I really like the environment. Nashville is a great place and there is a lot to do there."

Staying in Tennessee, about three hours east in Knoxville, the Vols remain in contention for Langham. He has remained in contact with defensive coordinator Brady Hoke and Langham thinks the Tennessee defense could be a good fit for him.

"Coach Hoke is my guy at Tennessee and we talk at least once a week right now," said Langham. "He has been recruiting me for a while, so we have a good relationship and I like what he has to say.

"I like their style of play. I was there for the South Carolina game and I really watched the defense and the defensive line. I like how they use their defensive ends and I think I could fit in there with them.

"Tennessee has great fans and I like the coaches overall too."

A third school in the SEC East in Langham's top four is Kentucky. While he has visited Nashville and Knoxville a few times each, he has only spent one day in Lexington so far.

He was there to see the Wildcats play Missouri and he liked what he saw.

"Everyone only talks about Kentucky as a basketball school, but they have some real football fans too. The crowd was good and I really liked the atmosphere and the environment when I was there.

"I have been talking with defensive line coach Derrick LeBlanc and he has said a lot of good things to me. I think I could go into Kentucky and have a chance to play early, so I like that. It is a school I would like to see again."

Many schools have questions around them, but none more than Ole Miss right now. Matt Luke is the interim head coach, but there will be a change in Oxford in the hear future.

Langham is not worried about that. He likes Ole Miss for more than just the coaches.

"I am not worried about the coaching situation there," said Langham. "That does not matter to me at all. I like the school and they have great football fans, they have a lot of history there and I see an opportunity for me there.

"Coach [Freddie] Roach is my recruiting coach, so we talk about once a week. We don't even talk about what is going on there with the coaching situation. We just talk about me, the school and things like that. Ole Miss is a school I really like."

With his list down to four schools, Langham is just waiting for the moment that feels right to make his decision. His plan is to take official visits to his finalists, but he may not need them.

"I will take as many visits as I feel I need to, but if I have the urge to commit after one or two visits, I will commit then."

The one thing he knows for sure is that he wants to play in the SEC.

"The SEC is the best conference with the best teams and the best players, so that is where I want to be," said Langham. "Being in the South, I have dreamed of playing in the SEC since I was a kid.

"I would say it was a factor helping me get things down to Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Ole Miss and Kentucky."

Langham said all schools are even at this time.