As Southern Miss quarterback Jake Lange sat down to take questions in Saturday's postgame press conference, the redshirt sophomore couldn't help but smile as he showed off the game ball that was bestowed to him for his performance in the Golden Eagles' 20-19 come from behind win against Arkansas State.
Although Lange's final stat line may not show it as he was 6-for-12 with 46 passing yards and a 6-yard run, Lange's calm and coolness helped spark USM's turnaround win as he entered the game after starter Zach Wilcke was benched with just two minutes left in the third quarter.
"Jake is a guy that is going to do exactly what the play call says," Southern Miss coach Will Hall said. "He knows the offense, and he is going to be a great coach. He is going to do exactly what it is. Jake is not the most talented guy in the world. He'll be the first to tell you. We knew we were blocking them, and we knew we could get open. We just needed more execution, and I thought Jake would give us that and give us some momentum going right there.
"I just knew the way we were blocking and the way we were getting open that we needed an older veteran to go in there and give us some consistency. I'm so proud of Jake. Jake is a role model for a lot of people. He comes to work every day with no promise and no hope of ever getting a reward for him. I have a lot of respect for him. He's going to be a great coach. This was a monumental feather in his cap. This was a Hollywood-type deal tonight."
With the game on the line and trailing 19-14, Lange's biggest two plays helped set up the Golden Eagles' go-ahead touchdown. On 3rd and nine at the Arkansas State 13-yard line, Lange scrambled, broke a tackle and then hurdled a defender to not only evade a sack to come up with his 6-yard run.
"How about that?!" Lange said. "I am very notorious for being slow. I looked to the left, and I looked to the right, and I said they had dropped back, and I might have a little lane. Somebody hit me, and I shoved him off. Then I looked, and I thought I can jump over that guy. I jumped over that guy, and I remember a play where (Clemson's) Trevor Lawrence, in the (College Football Semifinal), was playing Ohio State he leaned in and leaned back out on a quarterback draw and scored a 75-yard touchdown. I saw No. 23 and I said I can get him with the lean and came in. I should've gotten more yards, and I should have dove."
Then on fourth and three, just after Arkansas State called a timeout, Lange calmly hit tight end Cole Cavallo on a 4-yard pass to convert the pivotal fourth down. That then set up Janari Dean's go-ahead 3-yard touchdown run.
"Jake made a huge play tonight," Hall said. "The scramble out of nowhere, old Twinkletoes, ran it to get it to fourth and three.
"Then, on fourth and three, they call timeout, and we go to another play that we work on all the time. The first guy was open with Cole (Cavello), and Cole got the first. Just a huge turn of events right there."
Yet what made the night special for Lange even more so was that Jackson Prep product was not even listed on the Week 1 depth chart ahead of the Liberty game. The road for Lange at Southern Miss, as well as his football career, was by no means what most players hope to have.
Lange started in seven games last year only after the string of injuries occurred at the quarterback position, which led to the then-scout team quarterback having to become the starter.
Again, even in high school, Lange was not a stranger as he climbed the depth chart as was the fifth-string quarterback heading into his junior year before eventually starting in Jackson Prep's seventh game of that season. Then his senior year, Lange lost his starting after being injured. However, Lange says that his experience taught him why he has to stay prepared for any moment, and it also taught him to have belief in himself.
"It's a lot of prayer and a lot of constant and a lot of belief in yourself," Lange said. "A lot of people say that I was a backup in high school and this, that, or the other. I started my junior year as the fifth-string quarterback, and by the seventh game, I was starting and climbed the ladder before.
"Then, my senior year, I didn't play very well and got hurt, and I ended up not starting the rest of the year. Last year, everybody knows we had guys get hurt, and I was playing scout team. This isn't my first experience of preparing myself to play when I'm not playing. That's really important to me of not letting my teammates down. We have such a good group of guys."
