Charlotte Coach Tim Albin Brings On Defensive Player Mentor With A Track Record Of Success
In time for the start of spring practices, head coach Tim Albin has tabbed veteran defensive line coach Vince Reynolds to lead the defensive tackles group, the program announced on Wednesday.
With over 15 years of collegiate coaching experience, Reynolds came to the Queen City by way of Arkansas State where he spent the previous three seasons (2022-24) as the defensive line coach and defensive run game coordinator.
Reynolds tenure with the Red Wolves was marked with significant team and individual player success including helping guide the program back to the post-season for the first time since 2019 with a pair of bowl trips in 2023 and 2024.
In 2024, junior defensive lineman Bryan Whitehead earned All-Sun Belt third team honors, continuing a three-year streak of honorees for Reynolds. In 2023, the Red Wolves’ defense posted 6.8 tackles per loss per game, the most for an A-State team since 2018. Defensive end Thurman Geathers earned Third Team All-Sun Belt honors after ranking second in the league with 42 pressures. Geathers finished the year with 12 tackles for loss, most by an A-State player since 2021.
In 2022, Reynolds helped the A-State defense become the most improved rush defense in the country allowing nearly 100 fewer rushing yards per game than the previous season. The Red Wolves allowed seven fewer points per game, 100 total fewer yards per game to improve 40 spots in the national rankings, their third down percentage defense improved from 41.4 percent to 36.4 percent to rank top-50 nationally. He guided Kivon Bennett to a second consecutive all-conference selection while TW Ayers was honorable mention all-conference at defensive tackle.
Prior to Arkansas State, Reynolds spent six seasons as the defensive line (2016, 2020-21) and defensive tackles (2017-19) coach at Syracuse, and his career path has also included coaching positions at Western Michigan, Central Michigan, Central Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Wisconsin-Platteville. He has been a part of at least one bowl game at all five of his FBS stops.