Western Michigan DL coach Vinson Reynolds headed to Syracuse

Western Michigan defensive line coach Vinson Reynolds has accepted the same position under Syracuse coach Dino Babers, according to a source.

This past season was Reynolds’ third in his position at Western Michigan. A stellar recruiter, he was one of Rivals.com’s top 10 “Non-‘Big Six’ Recruiters” in 2014.

Prior to Western Michigan, the 34-year-old Reynolds was Central Michigan’s defensive line coach for two seasons after a year at Central Oklahoma. He was a quality control assistant at Oklahoma State from 2008-09, working with the defensive line.

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Reynolds also coached the defensive line in his first coaching job at Wisconsin-Platteville from 2006-07. A Detroit native, he was a defensive end at Northern Illinois from 2000-03.

Babers became Syracuse’s coach last month after an 18-9 record in his two years at Bowling Green, which includes a 10-3 mark and MAC championship this season. A disciple of Baylor’s Art Briles, Babers is considered one of college football’s best offensive minds and has a 37-16 career record.

While coach at Eastern Illinois from 2012-13, he coached quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to the Walter Payton Award, the Heisman Trophy award of the FCS. Garoppolo was drafted in the second round of the 2014 NFL draft by the New England Patriots.

Syracuse’s first black head coach, Babers replaces Scott Shafer, who was fired with a 4-8 record this season. Shafer had a 14-23 record in his three seasons in charge of the Orange.

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