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There might not be a position in football that gets as little recognition as long snapper. After all, they don’t do much more than hike the football a longer distance than a center and also block when necessary. Fortunately, college football has the wits about it to recognize the best at every position, including long snapper. Notre Dame’s Michael Vinson can attest to that after being named to the Patrick Mannelly Award Watch List, which lists players who could win the award that goes to the best long snapper in college football annually.
Vinson is coming off a season in which he was the Irish’s first choice for long snapper every game. In 2021, he will face off with a few of his fellow preseason nominees. Barring injury, they will be Sean Mills of Toledo, Oscar Shadley of Virginia Tech, Damon Johnson of USC and Kyle Petrucci of Stanford. If long snappers are your thing, pay particularly close attention to that position in those games.