Lakeland High School junior football star Alajuwun Langston is used to being a threat on offense, but he became a bona fide standout on defense this year, as well.

And he convinced more than just the coaches around the conference of this. Langston was named to the All-Region 3A East first team as a defensive back.

“I was so excited,” Langston said of when he found out about his selection. “I had a big smile on my face. I was telling everybody about it.”

Cavaliers coach Kevin Knight said he was excited for Langston and happy to see him get the recognition.

“This is his first year really starting at the cornerback position,” Knight said. “I saw the potential in him.”

Langston has now also made the Group 3A All-State second team as a defensive back.

“I’m very proud of him,” Knight said. “He never thought that he could play the position. He thought that he was just an offensive player.”

It was an experience from Langston’s freshman year that caused him to shy away from playing defense.

“I played it for like two games and there was a big play,” he said, referring to a burst on offense that all members of the secondary look to diligently prevent. “I had lost confidence in myself.”

So he stuck with offense for a while, and Knight said Langston always thought that he was too small to be a good defensive back. But this year, Knight helped bring him back to the other side of the ball.

“In practice, I felt good about it,” Langston said of his play at defensive back. Then in his first game, “I just had a great game.”

He came up and made tackles like he was supposed to and forced a fumble.

“That just boosted my confidence,” he said. He continued doing well during the year and grew to enjoy playing defense.

“He would tackle well, didn’t miss many tackles,” Knight said. “If we needed somebody to make a big play on defense, we could always count on him.”

He finished the year with three interceptions, two sacks, a forced fumble and approximately 65 tackles.

A standout offensive player had become a star on defense, and “now I think I could go to school for either or,” Langston said.

In addition to having a strong regular season, he shined in the No. 6 Cavaliers’ 21-14 playoff win over No. 3-seeded Park View High School, which probably helped draw the attention of coaches in the region who voted on the all-region honors.

As for why Langston received the all-state second team honor, Knight said, “Really, I think he’s respected around the area.”

The coach said he thought other coaches at the state level were compelled to vote for him because of his prominence on the all-region list.

“He’s a playmaker,” Knight said.