Langston Patterson Doesn't Know if This is it. He Does Know How He Wants to be Remembered
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TAMPA—As far as Langston Patterson knows, the folding chair that held him up in the bottom of Raymond James Stadium may have been the first one he sat in as a non-college football player.
Everything Patterson has put into this climb since he joined Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea to break down film every Sunday during his high school senior year may have just come to an end in Vanderbilt’s 34-27 ReliaQuest Bowl loss to Iowa. Patterson says he’s not sure, though. Maybe this isn’t the end.
Patterson is a part of a landmark lawsuit that pushes for college football players nationwide to be able to earn five years of eligibility regardless of eligibility. There has yet to be a resolution to the case, and with it comes a lack of closure on Patterson’s college football career.
If it is the end, Patterson certainly didn’t show that he had been worn down by the crushing uncertainty that surrounded him in those moments. Instead, the Vanderbilt linebacker sat there with a brave face and put on a smile as he thanked an interviewer for his time.
Patterson wasn’t naive enough to treat Wednesday afternoon as anything but a game that could be his last, though. The Vanderbilt linebacker had a similar approach to his senior day at FirstBank Stadium and didn’t stray from his mindset. If this is it, he didn’t want any regrets.
“Hopefully it’s not gonna be,” Patterson told Vandy on SI in regard to the idea that Wednesday could’ve been his last game in a Vanderbilt uniform. “But, you never know, and it hurts, but just the relationships and the brothers I have, like, that's my family for life and nothing will ever change that.”
The Nashville native joined this program in the infancy stages of Lea’s build, was the best player on its 2-10 team in 2023, became a catalyst for its 2024 run and was a fixture on its 2025 defense as it ascended into College Football Playoff contention. Perhaps there’s players more transformational than Patterson, but there’s few who love Vanderbilt’s program the way he does and deserve to be a part of its success more. Lea says Patterson is “such an important part of the foundation” of his program.
Patterson chose Vanderbilt over offers from Tennessee, Notre Dame and an assortment of other power-five programs. When he made the choice, he likely didn’t grasp the level of difficulty the program he committed to would face or the heights of the success it would have while he was a part of it. As he reflects on that decision–and the one he made to stay after a 2023 season in which seemingly all of his impactful teammates decided to leave–he has no regrets.
“I couldn’t be more grateful for the decision I’ve made,” Patterson said. “I just really wanted to leave this place better than I found it.”
When Patterson does his most profound thinking and speaking, it’s rarely about football or Vanderbilt’s build. Oftentimes it’s about faith, weathering circumstances and life as a whole. The Vanderbilt linebacker knows that if this is over, most of his legacy will be considered in football terms. He hopes that he’s done enough for there to be more to his story, though.
Perhaps Patterson’s most notable moment as a Vanderbilt football player came as he, Vanderbilt tight end Cole Spence and former Vanderbilt quarterback Hayden Moses rushed in an effort to save a woman’s life while on a mission trip to Navajo Nation in New Mexico. If it wasn’t that moment that’s remembered most, Patterson hopes his general pursuit of faith impacted someone.
“I hope that’s how people remember me, as someone who’s always been a servant,” Patterson said, “Someone who loved others well, lived right in the eyes of the Lord and doesn’t flinch when hard things happen. I did my best this year just to love the team, love the team well and lead them in a way with true identity and true culture. And I loved them like Jesus, but I go around every day, like ‘how do I brighten people's day? How do I make people's days easier or better?’ I just want to shine my life for the Lord.”
Patterson said he “learned so many lessons, who I am, how to love, how to serve and how to give to something better than yourself” as a member of Vanderbilt’s program. The Vanderbilt linebacker says that he believes “a lot of people are selfish” and that he’s set out to stray from that mindset by serving and “learning how to lead others.”
Who knows if this is the end, if Patterson will have to find a new place to do that. He appears to be content with what this has entailed for him, though. He’s okay if he doesn’t have the opportunity to take the field in a Vanderbilt uniform again.
“All good things come to an end eventually,” Patterson said, “So, you just got to go out and leave it all out there on the field.”
_(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, Southeastern 16 and Mainstreet Nashville.
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