NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt defensive run game coordinator and linebackers coach Nick Lezynski has been named to the American Football Coaches Association’s 35 Under 35. The AFCA announced the selections Monday.
The 35 coaches from across all NCAA divisions and NAIA will participate in the 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute at the AFCA Convention in January. The one-day program features a curriculum of interactive lectures focused on topics specifically tailored to emphasize leadership in coaching, ethics, influential responsibilities, career progression and family balance.
To be eligible, applicants had to be born on or after Jan. 1, 1989, and must be currently serving as a high school head coach, two-year college full-time assistant or head coach, or NAIA/NCAA (all divisions) full-time assistant or head coach. Applicants were required to submit a résumé, five references, and a 1,600-word article or 10-minute live instructional video on an offensive, defensive, special teams, or position-specific topic of the applicant’s choosing back in the summer.
Leznynski is in his third season at Vanderbilt as linebackers coach and second as defensive run game coordinator. He has developed a pair of emerging stars in linebackers Langston Patterson and Bryan Longwell. The duo led Vandy in tackles this season with Longwell making 80 and Patterson recording 74. Longwell was second on the team with 7.5 tackles for loss and added an interception. Patterson led the team in tackles last season as a sophomore.
As a unit, Leznkski has helped the Commodores improve their rushing defense from 107th nationally in 2023 to 44th this season. The team’s defensive scoring average is the best by a Vanderbilt team since 2015.
Prior to Vanderbilt, Lezynski spent four seasons at Notre Dame as a graduate assistant and analyst, including the 2018-20 campaigns with Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea who served as defensive coordinator for the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame won at least 10 games in all three seasons they were together in South Bend and made the College Football Playoff twice.
He spent one season as linebackers coach at Lafayette and three years as a graduate assistant at UConn where he helped the Huskies to the St. Petersburg Bowl in 2015. He began his career as defensive backs coach at Holy Cross (Mass.) in 2012 and spent two seasons with the Crusaders.
The Newtown, Pennsylvania, native was a walk-on quarterback and cornerback at Notre Dame from 2007-11. He graduated from Notre Dame with a degree in marketing from the Mendoza College of Business in 2001 and completed a master’s degree in educational psychology at UConn in 2016. He and his wife, Jessica, have three daughters – Sloane, Bryn and Tatum.
Lezynski and the Commodores will face Georgia Tech in the Birmingham Bowl on Dec. 27. Ticket and travel information is available now.
