“That’s Part of the Reason I Came Here”: Langston Patterson Takes The Development of Vanderbilt Football Personally

Growing up and going to school in the Nashville, Tennessee area is something that meant something to Vanderbilt linebacker Langston Patterson. The Nashville native attended high school at Christ Presbyterian Academy, about a 25-minute drive from FirstBank Stadium.

As a three-star recruit in the class of 2022 coming out of high school, Patterson had a dream of being a part of something special at Vanderbilt. Patterson was recruited by Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea back when Lea was the defensive coordinator at Notre Dame. When Lea decided to take the open coaching position at Vanderbilt ahead of the 2021-2022 college football season, Patterson decided to turn his desire to play collegiately in Nashville into a reality.

“I love Coach Lea,” Patterson said. “He had been recruiting me when he was at Notre Dame and when he came here, that was a man I really wanted to play for and I believed in his mission and his vision for the program and I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of.”

While Patterson’s role his freshman year at Vanderbilt was predominantly on special teams, it was not long before the No. 12 rated linebacker in the 2022 high school class saw an increase in his role. As a sophomore, he made the most of his opportunity, leading the team in tackles with 74 in 2023.

Since then, his contribution to the team has only grown as a defensive starter. Last season as a junior, Patterson became a team captain and was the anchor of the Commodore defense as he finished with 78 tackles, including three different games with double-digit tackles. His performance helped Vanderbilt to its best season since 2013, finishing with a record of 7-6 and bowl victory over Georgia Tech.

It is no secret that Patterson wants this newest era of Vanderbilt football to not only last, but continue to grow. In fact, a big reason Patterson is playing at Vanderbilt is his want to elevate the program to amongst the best in the sport.

“That’s part of the reason I came here. For so long Vanderbilt has just not been a successful college football program, and I wanted to be sort of a catalyst of how it could turn around,” Patterson said.

Patterson also touched on the city of Nashville as a whole, saying the city should have a good college team given the attractiveness of the city.

“There’s no reason Nashville and Vanderbilt shouldn’t have one of the best programs in college football. It’s a great city that has so many successful and important people and has all the resources for this program to reach its highest potential and win championships,” Patterson said.

Patterson is entering his senior year and hopes to continue to make an impact on the Vanderbilt defense. But more than that, Patterson wants his mark he will leave on Clark Lea’s program to be a lasting mark. One that will hopefully be a building block to a continual ascension of the Commodores’ football program.

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