In football, the quarterback is often seen as the star of the team. Senior quarterback Jack Langley, known by friends as “Quarterback Jack” or “Simple Jack” by his teammates — a “Tropic Thunder” reference — has been on the George Mason University club football team since his freshman year. Now that his final season is upon him, there is still much this quarterback hopes to achieve.
Fans can’t help but feel excited when watching Langley and his teammates play. Mason’s football team may only be a club team, but the energy is still electric and thriving in the stands, which are always filled at every home game by fans blazing school spirit.
Langley’s biggest supporters can be found holding signs that read “Marry Me Quarterback Jack!” — ironically by most of his male friends — or “Lets go #14!”. The spotlight doesn’t only shine on him, though.
“This team, the players and coaches, make it fun every day for me,” Langley said. “Not only do we have a variety of very skilled athletes, but great guys who have extraordinary camaraderie, a great sense of humor and pride.”
Being the leader of the team isn’t always easy. “Some negatives would include being hit, hard, by 250-plus-pound defenders, being the first to blame when things go wrong, and being the one held responsible for almost everything the team does,” Langley said.
However, Langley said, “I love all these things. I love being the leader, I love the responsibility, and I love the mental and strategic aspect of the game”.
In his final season, Langley hopes to achieve a great feet with the team: winning a Seaboard Conference Championship.
“Since the team’s inception in ‘93 we have competed in a small conference of four teams, including Valley Forge, Williamson Tech, Stevens Tech, and ourselves,” Langley said. “If we beat Stevens this season, and they beat Valley Forge later in the season, we will win the Conference — so my goal is set on beating Stevens.”
Winning or losing the Seaboard Conference Championship ideally won’t be the end of Langley’s football career with Mason.
“This is my final year playing on the team, but I’ve talked to the coaches about possibly joining the coaching staff as a quarterbacks coach after I graduate,” Langley said. “If that doesn’t work out, I’ll be that really loud guy in the stands at all the games next year.”
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