Bryan Longwell Is Embracing Vanderbilt Football. He's Repayed with a Face of The Program Role
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NASHVILLE—It’s the most anti transfer portal tattoo that Bryan Longwell could have gotten without directly saying anything in regard to the transfer portal whatsoever. Right there on the back of Longwell’s left bicep is a large V as well as the No. 11 sitting well below it.
There’s no going back from this, it’s a forever indication that Longwell and this Vanderbilt program will be affiliated forever. Longwell is okay with that, though. He thought this through and didn’t have any hesitation in getting it.
Longwell’s mom was cognizant enough of the portal era and how quickly things can change to forbid him from getting a tattoo with a Vanderbilt logo until he knew that there was no chance of a transfer portal entry. She told Longwell to wait until his final season of eligibility.
That time is here now, though, and Longwell isn’t changing his mind. The Vanderbilt linebacker will never play college football at another school. He’ll never stop representing Vanderbilt with his body art, either. Longwell is proud of that.
“This place just means so much to me,” Longwell said. “Just them giving me an opportunity and the chance to come play cult football at a high level programming, I mean. This is my home, man, you know? And I couldn't be more thankful for everything that it’s given me. I feel like that's why I feel like I should get it on there, man. I mean, this is going to be part of me for the rest of my life.”
With the trajectory of his career considered, Longwell as much as anyone in this Vanderbilt program has earned the right to have its logo tattooed on him. The Vanderbilt linebacker joined it as a three-star recruit in 2023, endured a 2-10 season as a freshman and has been on the field for nearly every snap of the program’s turnaround.
Vanderbilt has embraced Longwell like he’s embraced it, too. Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea said in the fall that Longwell is as much of a misfit as anyone in the program and that Longwell prompted the program to embrace the moniker. Vanderbilt defensive coordinator Steve Gregory says Longwell was already a leader a season ago. His tattoo gives him no choice but to be one these days, though.
Perhaps the tattoo platforms the Vanderbilt linebacker to act as one of the faces of its program, too. In an era of constant player movement, Longwell clearly isn’t bought into that idea. Vanderbilt has his heart and he wants everyone to know it.
“He's engaged, like, that motivates the other guys around him,” Vanderbilt co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Nick Lezynski said. “We can only be an elite defense and connected defense if we’ve got guys like Brian Longwell that have great leadership and just have a great aptitude for the game. And he's always willing to share with the younger guys and also collaborate with me and with the coaches.”
Longwell admits that there were mixed reactions among his Vanderbilt teammates initially–particularly by former Vanderbilt linebacker Langston Patterson–but they ultimately felt as if it fit him.
The Vanderbilt linebacker is a player that this program wants to represent it as one of its faces, and he appears to be bought in on that idea. Longwell is the rare Nashville high schooler to go to Vanderbilt and win. He’s aiming to spread that word.
“I think people, especially when they come here now, they realize that we're not some, like, team that's just in the SEC,” Longwell said. “Like, we have guys who are SEC level talent. We have guys who can fall out. I think that encourages us to have good players, more good players want to come play with good players. I think that the whole nature of it has really increased the stock and call it in the high school kids' minds around the local areas.”
At this stage of transition within Vanderbilt’s stage of transition from its old core to the new one it has in place, this program is relying on its holdovers to bridge the gap. Longwell is one of a few logical candidates to do it as a result of being in Vanderbilt’s program through a number of ups and downs, understanding its history as a local guy and production that stacks up with a number of the program’s most established players.
Bryan Longwell ft. his Vanderbilt tattoo pic.twitter.com/BV74Gpfoqb
— Hacksquat Jim Duggan (@hcksqtjimduggan) March 28, 2026
Longwell was second on Vanderbilt’s roster with 70 tackles a season ago–Vanderbilt safety CJ Heard went for 71–recorded a sack and recorded an interception. The Vanderbilt senior led Vanderbilt in tackles throughout the 2024 season.
Perhaps Longwell hasn’t played himself into an NFL Draft pick, but he’s become a program stalwart. If he hadn’t already cemented that by consistently being on the field, he did it with his offseason endeavor of making sure that he wore this program on his sleeve–literally.
“He leads by example, he speaks up when he has to, guys respect him, and he's a heck of a football player,” Gregory said. “Really happy that he's on our team.”
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_(1)-b3e453dfe426b2dd4b83a12540ebdb37.jpeg "Joey Dwyer")
Joey Dwyer is the lead writer on Vanderbilt Commodores On SI. He found his first love in college sports at nearby Lipscomb University and decided to make a career of telling its best stories. He got his start doing a Notre Dame basketball podcast from his basement as a 14-year-old during COVID and has since aimed to make that 14-year-old proud. Dwyer has covered Vanderbilt sports for three years and previously worked for 247 Sports and Rivals. He contributes to Seth Davis' Hoops HQ, Basket Under Review and Mainstreet Nashville.
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