How sibling rivalry helped CPA's Langston Patterson become a future Vanderbilt football player

Joseph Spears
Nashville Tennessean

Langston Patterson's competitive drive stems from one person.

His older brother, Kane.

When they were younger, the CPA senior linebacker and Vanderbilt football commitment said he would do anything to compete and be close to Kane, now a linebacker at Clemson.

Whatever Kane did, Langston wanted to do, and he wanted to do it better. That desire to be great like Kane helped transform Langston into a multi-sport state champion and one of the top football prospects in the state. 

"My older brother has always kind of shown me the way and taught me what it takes to go to the next level," Patterson said. "As a kid, I’d always watch him go work out all of the time and get some late-night curls in.

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"It’s really cool to have an older brother that can show you the way, and that’s what I try to be for my younger brothers who are coming up and will probably be better than either of us."

Patterson, a 6-foot-1, 210-pound senior and three-star linebacker, is No. 9 in the 2021 Dandy Dozen, a collection of the top college football prospects from the Nashville area as chosen by The Tennessean.

He joins his brother as members of the Dandy Dozen. Kane was No. 1 on the 2018 Dandy Dozen.

CPA coach Ingle Martin said Langston learned a lot from watching Kane's college recruitment. He often went with him on visits.

"I think Kane was a good brother in a sense that Langston was part of it," Martin said. "He didn't do a lot by himself. Langston got to go on some visits. 

"His parents did a really good job of letting Langston and their younger brothers get a better feel of it."

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Ranked as the No. 49 linebacker in the country and No. 16 prospect in the state, according to the 247Sports Composite, Patterson helped lead CPA to a Division II-AA football state championship and a Division II-A baseball title during the 2020-21 school year. He was on The Tennessean's All-Midstate first teams for both sports.

During the football season, he recorded a team-high 72 tackles, 19 for loss, and 3.5 sacks. In the Lions' 35-28 DII-AA championship win over Lipscomb Academy, Patterson ran for 191 yards and three touchdowns. 

Patterson then led the baseball team to its first state championship since 2015. He led the Lions with a .421 batting average and a school-record 12 home runs. 

"My motor comes from the desire to just win," Patterson said. "I’m a winner and a very competitive guy. Whether it's playing ping pong, running a race or even just racing back to the car in the parking lot, I have to win.

"I have the drive to be the best I can and pull others up with me when I can."

That drive is something Patterson says he credits back to Kane and that sibling rivalry.

"When we were younger, we’d always play against each other in baseball, basketball and football, and we had to beat each other," Patterson said. "We used to always be pretty good against each other until he hit puberty and left me. That pushed me to be better at everything I do."

Reach Joe Spears at jspears2@gannett.com or 731-343-4923. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter @joe_spears7.