Antonio Langham was at a coaching clinic in Nashville when Greg Byrne called to ask him if he would be home in Birmingham later that day. When it became apparent that Langham would not be back in time, the Alabama athletic director broke some news to the former Crimson Tide cornerback.
 
"We were talking and he said, 'I just want to be the first to say congrats, you're a Hall of Famer,'" Langham recalled. "And at first I was like, Man, stop playing. He was like, 'No, I'm serious.'
 
"It was a surreal moment. I had to get away from the guys I was standing around and take a moment to take it in. It's crazy because it seemed like by the time he got to me, everyone else had already received the news, because my phone kept dinging and dinging and people (with me) were like, What's going on? Everyone was like, 'Congrats, Hall of Famer.' And I said, Well, he was serious."
 
Langham becomes the 21st former Alabama player to make the Hall, and yet another Crimson Tide national champion to earn the honor.
 
"The good thing about winning a national championship is you understand the camaraderie that was built, the love for each other, the love for your teammates that you go to battle with every day," Langham said. "We're constantly on the phone checking in with each other. When we're in Tuscaloosa together, it's like we're back in school. We have a relationship and bond that is so strong.
 
"We credit Coach (Gene) Stallings (HOF '11) for that. He used to tell us that when it's all said and done and you're not putting the shoulder pads on, you'll have a relationship where you're calling on each other and checking in all the time. It's amazing that all of us to this day still text, call and run into each other everywhere. I played on a lot of different teams, even in the pros, but I've never been in a situation where the love and brotherhood was as strong as it was at Alabama."
 
Langham made history as the first-ever SEC championship game MVP in 1992 when he made a pick-six that preserved the Tide's undefeated run to the national title, and he became the Tide's first Thorpe Award winner in 1993, the second of his two first-team All-American campaigns. The 6-foot Langham finished his career with 141 tackles and 19 interceptions.
 
He credits the "village" that raised him for helping him grow into the man and player he became, going all the way back to his first time playing football. His local league was for children 6 and over, and as a sidelined five-year-old watching his older cousins play he would often pout asking why he couldn't join them on the field. His mother had had enough of her son's tantrums, so his grandmother gave her the idea of asking the coaches if he could wear the uniform on the sideline without entering the game, just to appease him.
 
"First of all, I thank God, the most high, for the talents and unbelievable blessings he gave me," Langham said. "My grandmother, Myrtle Langham, passed away when I was 12, but the night before she passed she said, 'A lot of good things are going to happen for you. God let me know. So, stay the course, stay humble, stay respectful and treat everybody the same.' The emotions build up because she called this when I was 12. I didn't see it, so it started then.
 
"And I thought about my dad. Unfortunately, he didn't live long enough to see any of this. I was 16 months old, and he was 21 when he died from complications from a car accident. My hometown is really small, so everybody knew my dad. His nickname was 'Crow,' because he ran so fast he could fly. Everybody talks about how good he was at running back, wide receiver, defensive back. They say I look just like my dad."
 
Langham's uncle and aunt, Clyde and Bernell Goode, played a huge role as well, and former Alabama defensive coordinator Bill Oliver turned the former prep receiver-safety into a college corner, seeing the potential for Langham as a cover man.
 
Langham now coaches corners himself at Miles College, an HBCU in Fairfield, AL. His seven-year NFL career began when the Browns drafted him No. 9 overall in 1994. He would become intimately acquainted with Cleveland's coach over the years.
 
"Coach (Nick) Saban drafted me to the Browns," Langham said. "I laughed and joked with him in the summer. The coaches I had when I was there laughed all the time. They said: 'You're the only man he'll stop practice for just to speak to.'"
 
ANOTNIO LANGHAM: UP CLOSE
 

• Named a 1993 unanimous First Team All-American, claiming both the Jim Thorpe Award and the Jack Tatum Trophy, which both honor the best defensive back in the nation.
• Finished his career with 141 tackles, six tackles for loss, 19 interceptions (including three for touchdowns) and 22 pass breakups.
• Led Bama to a 40-9-1 record and four postseason berths, including a 13-0 season and national title in 1992.
• Played for College Football Hall of Fame Coach Gene Stallings.
• Becomes the 21st Crimson Tide player to enter the College Football Hall of Fame.