Michael Vinson
| Notre Dame Fighting Irish – No. 65 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Long snapper |
| Class | Graduate student |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | Winnetka, Illinois, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Weight | 242 lb (110 kg) |
| Career history | |
| College | Notre Dame (2018–2023) |
| Bowl games | |
| High school | New Trier (Winnetka, Illinois) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Michael Vinson is an American football long snapper for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He was a first-team All-American in 2022.
Early life and high school
Vinson was born in Winnetka, Illinois.[1] He first began snapping footballs when in fifth grade and over time became more interested about being a long snapper.[2] When in eighth grade, he read an article about John Shannon, a long snapper for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and decided his goal was to be like him.[3] He attended New Trier High School in Winnetka and was put on the freshman "B" football team in his first year.[3] He attended Chris Rubio's long snapping camps afterwards and his career began to "blossom" as a sophomore and junior.[3] Prior to his senior year, he won a competition at Notre Dame and was given a preferred walk-on opportunity.[3] He committed to play college football for the Fighting Irish even though Army had offered an athletic scholarship and several other schools had shown interest.[4][5]
College career
Vinson was backup to his inspiration, John Shannon, during the 2018 and 2019 seasons.[3] As a freshman in 2018, he saw no playing time.[2] He received the nickname "Milk" that year, by which he is often known.[5] The nickname originated from head coach Brian Kelly dubbing the starting special teams squad the "Cheese Unit."[3] As Vinson was a freshman and had not yet become a starter, he had not yet earned "his cheese status."[3] He recalled that he had been in coach Kelly's way in the locker room, and Kelly told him "Get out of my way, Milk!" and the name stuck.[3]
Vinson saw his first playing time for Notre Dame in the 2019 season, seeing limited action against the Bowling Green Falcons and New Mexico Lobos.[2] He also handled long snapping duties in practice while Shannon dealt with an injury in order to save Shannon for games.[5] Vinson was poised to be a starter in 2020 after Shannon graduated, but the team then brought in on scholarship Alex Peitsch, ranked the best high school player at the position.[5] Making things more difficult, the practice schedule was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, giving him little time to prove whether he was a better option than Peitsch.[5] Despite his situation, Vinson was able to win the job after impressing in the preseason practices.[5] He appeared in every game in the 2020 season and helped Notre Dame reach the Rose Bowl.[6][7] He repeated playing every game in 2021 and was put on scholarship after the season.[8][9]
Prior to the 2022 season, Vinson signed a name, image and likeness (NIL) deal with the American Dairy Association of Indiana.[10] He again played every game in 2022 and at the end of the year was selected first-team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA).[8][11] He returned for a final season in 2023, citing hopes of a future National Football League (NFL) career.[2]
References
- ^ "Michael Vinson". ESPN.
- ^ a b c d Stires, Sean (May 3, 2023). "Michael Vinson Working Toward His NFL Dream". Sports Illustrated.
- ^ a b c d e f g h James, Tyler (August 28, 2021). "Walk-on Vinson relishes chance with Irish". The Indianapolis Star. p. B3 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Pope, LaMond (November 14, 2017). "New Trier long snapper Michael Vinson orally commits to Notre Dame". Chicago Tribune.
- ^ a b c d e f Sampson, Pete (August 29, 2021). "The legend of Milk: How Notre Dame long snapper Michael Vinson earned a nickname and found a niche". The Athletic.
- ^ Prister, Tim (May 30, 2022). "Counting Down The Irish – LS-Michael Vinson". 247Sports.
- ^ Berardino, Mike (May 15, 2021). "Life at Notre Dame has been a snap for Michael Vinson". Chicago Sun-Times.
- ^ a b Farmer, Douglas (June 16, 2023). "Notre Dame 99-to-0: No. 65 Michael Vinson, sixth-year long snapper, four-year starter". NBC Sports.
- ^ Engel, Patrick (December 16, 2021). "Notre Dame puts long snapper Michael Vinson on scholarship". Rivals.com.
- ^ Berardino, Mike (May 25, 2022). "'Milk' adds Indy 500 home to menu". The Indianapolis Star. p. B4 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Berardino, Mike (August 11, 2023). "Notre Dame football long snapper Michael Vinson 'has that presence' of a team captain". NDInsider.com.