Clark Lea fills defensive line coach vacancy with elite recruiter, per reports
Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea has filled the vacant slot on his staff for a defensive line coach with a familiar face.
Larry Black, who spent the last 3 seasons as Toledo’s defensive line coach coach, is heading to Nashville to join the Commodores.
Sources: #Vanderbilt is set to hire #Toledo defensive line coach Larry Black for the same role. Black spent past three seasons at Toledo after working at Notre Dame w/ Vandy coach Clark Lea. He replaces Inoke Breckterfield. @BruceFeldmanCFB first reported Black as a Vandy target.
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) December 29, 2021
Black and Lea previously worked together at Notre Dame, where Black was part of the staff from 2016-18 as a graduate assistant and then assistant defensive line coach.
The 32-year-old Black, who played at Indiana and had a brief stint with the Cincinnati Bengals, replaces Inoke Breckterfield, who left Vanderbilt to join the staff at Washington.
Black has garnered a reputation early in his career for being a highly effective recruiter.
SOURCE: Vandy is targeting Toledo DL coach Larry Black to become the Commodores new defensive line coach. Black was ranked as the No. 2 recruiter in the MAC for the 2021 recruiting class. He spent the 2018 at Notre Dame as a GA and worked with Clark Lea.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) December 29, 2021
Lea, the one-time Notre Dame defensive coordinator, is coming off his 1st season with the Commodores, who finished 2-10 in 2021.
