John Lang is just what you’d expect from a former Division I college football defensive lineman – he’s big enough to block out the sun.
But, Lang’s burly frame belies a bevy of talents wildly distant from the smash and crash of college football.
This rough-and-tumble nose guard is also a classical artist.
With hands mangled from years toiling in the trenches for the University of Tulsa, Lang crafts charcoal and graphite works modeled from hours spent studying master artists like Michelangelo and Charles Bargue.
As an art teacher and football coach at Deer Creek High School, Lang has found a way to blend the disparate worlds of football and fine art into a rewarding career.
Lang’s artistic gifts were apparent early in his childhood. He began drawing at age five, more than a decade before growing into a blue-chip high school football recruit.
While pursing an art degree at Tulsa, Lang helped his Golden Hurricane teams to victories over traditional football powerhouses like the Missouri Tigers, Iowa Hawkeyes, Oklahoma Sooners and Oklahoma State Cowboys. After college, Lang worked in New York City as a model and actor, including gigs with Joe Boxer and on the soap opera, Guiding Light.
Now, Lang spends his mornings instructing students in his classroom studio on the finer points of balance and perspective. He spends his afternoons on the gridiron, teaching student athletes about gap techniques and shedding blockers.
Lang shares his passion for art and sport with equal fervor. He also works with pottery, photography and plays guitar. He has exhibited his compositions at various art shows and has created commissioned works for individuals and organizations.
An art teaching football coach may be rare, but Lang’s clash of cultures serves as an example for students that any interests can be explored and nurtured, even those with obvious contrasts.
To see a selection of Lang’s original works, visit johntlang.com.