David Lang (March 28, 1967 – May 21, 2005) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

for the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

and

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Northern Arizona University Northern Arizona University (NAU) is a public research university based in Flagstaff, Arizona. It was founded in 1899 as the final public university established in the Arizona Territory, 13 years before Arizona was admitted as the 48th state. ...

Early life

Lang graduated from Eisenhower High School in 1986. He was an All-league selection at

as a senior. In

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

, he anchored the

4 × 100 metres relay The 4 × 100 metres relay or sprint relay is an athletics track event run in lanes over one lap of the track with four runners completing 100 metres each. The first runners must begin in the same stagger as for the individu ...

team that finished third at the California state finals. He accepted a football scholarship from

. As a sophomore, he had 47 carries for 240 yards and 14 receptions for 96 yards. As a junior, he started the first four games, tallying 146 rushing yards and 114 receiving yards, before suffering a knee injury that sidelined him for the rest of the season. As a senior, he led the team both in rushing with 94 carries for 521 yards and in receiving with 41 receptions for 447 yards. He became the first player in school history to have a game with 100 yards rushing and receiving, rushing for 189 yards (including a 70-yard

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

) and registering five catches for 112 yards (including an 80-yard

), against the

University of Nevada The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant ...

, on November 18. He finished as the team's leading rusher (521 yards) and receiver (447). He also was a sprinter on the

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

team.

Professional career

Los Angeles Rams

Lang was selected by the

in the 12th round (328th overall) of the

1990 NFL Draft The 1990 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 22–23, 1990, at the Marriott Marq ...

, after dropping because he had to miss

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events, ...

while serving a 120-day prison sentence for receiving stolen property. He would end up missing the season due to these issues. In

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

, his speed and versatility allowed him to earn a roster spot playing

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. He collected 8

tackles and averaged 16.2 yards-per-kickoff return. In

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

, although he had never played the position before entering the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

, he was named the starting

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

in the sixth game of the season, replacing an injured

Robert Delpino Robert Lewis Delpino (born November 2, 1965) is a former professional American football running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played six seasons in the league for the Los Angeles Rams (1988–1992) and the Denver Broncos (1993). ...

. He finished with career-highs in rushing (203 yards on 33 carries), receiving (18 passes for 283 yards) and

s (6). Against the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

, he replaced an injured

Cleveland Gary Cleveland Everette Gary (born May 4, 1966), also known as Cleveland Edward Gary, is a former professional American football running back in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected in the first round of the 1989 NFL draft by the Los ...

, posting 11 carries for 62 yards. Against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

, he had a 71-yard run. Against the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

, he set a career-high with 84 receiving yards on 2 receptions, including a 67-yard

catch. In

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

, he suffered a knee injury in training camp and was sidelined for the first 8 games. He was a backup, registering 29 rushing yards and 45 receiving yards. In

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

, he led the team with 27 kickoff returns for 626 yards. His 23.2-yard average ranked ninth in the NFC. He also was third on the team with 10

tackles. He suffered a thigh bruise in the fifth game of the season against the

, causing him to miss the next 3 contests.

Dallas Cowboys

On April 27,

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

, he signed with the

as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

to improve the

units and reunited with

Ernie Zampese Ernie Zampese (March 12, 1936 – August 29, 2022) was an American professional American football, football coach in the National Football League (NFL). Playing for Santa Barbara High School, he was selected as the California Interscholastic Fed ...

who was his

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of an American football or Canadian football team who is in charge of the team's offense. Generally, along with the defensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator, this coach re ...

with the Rams. He was named the

captain and set the franchise single-season record for

tackles with 30, which was broken the next year by

Jim Schwantz James William Schwantz (born January 23, 1970) is an American politician currently serving as the Mayor of Palatine, Illinois. He is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League for the Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, and ...

(32); the

started keeping the stat in

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

. He was part of the

Super Bowl XXX Super Bowl XXX was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

winning team. He was not re-signed after the season and retired.

Personal life

Lang founded the

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

"Legends by Lang" to mentor urban youths. He was shot and killed on May 21, 2005.

References

External links

Wait Was Worth It for Running Back Lang : Rams: Twelfth-round draft choiceRAMS : Lang's Versatility Gains Attention
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lang, David 1967 births 2005 deaths Sportspeople from Rialto, California Players of American football from California American football running backs Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football players Los Angeles Rams players Dallas Cowboys players Male murder victims Deaths by firearm in Georgia (U.S. state) People murdered in Georgia (U.S. state) American people of Dutch descent American murder victims 2005 murders in the United States Ed Block Courage Award recipients