Commodores defensive players to watch

The Texas Longhorns finished in the top five of the EA Sports College Football 25 offensive rankings with a total score of 91, tied with No. 3 Alabama.

Five of the seven top-ranked defensive backs in the Commodores program after the 2023 season have graduated or transferred, including Jaylen Mahoney and De’Rickey Wright, who stayed in the SEC to play with the Texas A&M Aggies.

No. 25 Vanderbilt’s defense will have to do its best to stop Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers and his solid team of running backs and offensive linemen. However, the Texas offense is coming off a not-so-successful game against the then No. 1 team. 5 Georgia, but looks ready to bounce back. Vandy’s defense allowed unranked Ball State to score 14 points last Saturday.

Here are three players Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea will trust to take down the fourth-ranked Longhorn offense.

Nashville native Langston Patterson started his junior year with honors. According to two sources, Patterson was named to the third and fourth teams of the preseason All-SEC.

As a sophomore in 2023, Patterson led the Commodores with 74 total tackles in 11 games, including eight at Tennessee and a team- and career-high 12 against Auburn. At Mississippi, he recorded his first career sack, forced a fumble and an interception, and totaled a team-high nine tackles.

The 74 tackles showed tremendous growth between his two years in the program. As a freshman, Patterson recorded just five tackles after playing in all 12 games for the Commodores that season.

At the halfway point of the season, Patterson has already recorded 28 tackles for Vanderbilt, including seven total and two solo tackles against then-No. 1 Alabama.

Sophomore Bryan Longwell was named the Lott IMPACT Trophy Player of the Week following Vanderbilt’s win over Alabama, where he recorded eight tackles, including five solo.

Longwell leads the Commodores with 36 tackles, 12 solo tackles, as well as an interception and two sacks this season.

As a freshman, Longwell made the SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll and played in 12 games, recording 36 tackles. From 36 tackles at the end of the year to 36 in week nine, it’s clear that Longwell has shown great improvement in his game.

Like his teammate Patterson, safety CJ Taylor started his 2024 season making two All-SEC third teams in the preseason. Taylor finished 2023 on the All-SEC fourth team.

The rising senior started in all nine games he played as a junior and ranked third on the team with 55 tackles and second with 7.5 tackles for loss. According to Pro Football Focus, Taylor ranked fourth among SEC linebackers with an 80.2 defensive grade and earned Mid-Season All-SEC Defensive Honorable Mention from College Football Network.

Taylor is one of the most experienced players on this Vanderbilt defense, and although he has never played against Texas, he has stats that back up his proficiency in protecting the end zone.

So far, Taylor has recorded 23 tackles, including 19 solo tackles for the Commodores, with one defensive interception. The fourth-year safety enters the Texas game with a season-high six solo tackles in last Saturday’s win over Ball State.

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