Tag: michael vinson

Notre Dame players named to preseason award watch lists

Will anyone win this year?

It’s the time of year when we start seeing award watch lists come out in anticipation of the college football season. With Notre Dame expected to be highly ranked once again, there are plenty of players who are ripe for watching. Whether or not any of them actually take home any of this hardware is anyone’s guess right now, but they’re at least on the radar of those who know college football best.

In some cases, more than one Notre Dame player is on the watch list for the same award. Also, as different award watch lists come on different days, it can be difficult to keep track of them all. Rest assured, we will be doing just that as these lists continue to come out.

At season’s end, we’ll find out if any of them or maybe somebody different becomes the first national award winner for the Irish since [autotag]Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah[/autotag] won the Butkus Award in 2020:

Notre Dame long snapper named to Patrick Mannelly Award watch list

He very well could take home the hardware after this season

One of the best long snappers in the history of football, [autotag]Patrick Mannelly[/autotag], has a long snapping award named after him and recognized [autotag]Notre Dame[/autotag]’s [autotag]Michael Vinson[/autotag].

The Mannelly Award is give out annually to the top long snapper in college, was created in 2019 and the [autotag]John Shannon[/autotag], the Irish long snapper, took home the initial award.

Vinson, who has been named to the watch list for the second consecutive  year, did not take home the hardware after the 2022 season. The 6-foot, 2-inch and 235 pound long snapper is a known commodity, being named as the First Team All-American selection by the American Football Coaches Association for his work last year.

A semi-finalist for the Mannelly Award last year, Vinson will look to take home the award after this fall.

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How does a football player earn the nickname ‘Milk’?

What kind milk do you prefer?

Just exactly how does a football player at the University of Notre Dame earn the nickname “Milk” of all things?

Notre Dame long snapper Michael Vinson was mic’d up at a recent Notre Dame practice and was quick to display his personality.

Besides how he got the nickname you’ll see Vinson share some great excitement for a teammate after a big kick and see his moment in the sun as a punt returner a few days ago.  Check it out below:

2 percent Tuesdays need to immediately be a thing.

Notre Dame opens the 2021 football season on September 5 at Florida State.

Related:

Desmond Howard has Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff

All the bowls Notre Dame is being projected to in 2021

Notre Dame football: 3 Irish players selected by Phil Steele as pre-season All-Americans

Some pre-season love for the Irish

We’re still more than 10 weeks away from college football’s regular season getting going but on Tuesday it was announced that Notre Dame has three players that veteran college football scribe Phil Steele sees as preseason All-Americans.

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The following is from the Notre Dame athletic department:

Phil Steele has released its 2023 Preseason All-America team and three University of Notre Dame football student-athletes were named to one of the four teams, led by first-team selection junior offensive tackle Joe Alt. Sophomore cornerback Benjamin Morrison, a freshman All-America in 2022, was selected to the second team along with graduate student long snapper Michael Vinson.

Alt earned first-or-second team All-America honors from 12 different outlets at the end of the 2022 season and finished the year as the top rated offensive tackle in the country according to Pro Football Focus.

Alt contributed to an offensive line that paved the way for 2,457 rushing yards in 2022, a 4.6 yards-per-carry average, 25 rushing touchdowns and seven 200-yard rushing performances.

Morrison was one of the late-season breakout stars of college football in 2022, picking off two interceptions and returning one 96 yards for a touchdown in Notre Dame’s 35-14 romp over No. 5 Clemson.

The rookie then claimed a share of the Notre Dame single-game record with three interceptions in a shutout win over Boston College, including two interceptions in the first quarter. He then capped his outstanding freshman year with an interception in the Gator Bowl victory over South Carolina.

Morrison appeared in all 13 games in 2022, starting nine and finishing the year with 33 tackles, 22 solo stops and four pass break ups.

Vinson, who earned first-team AFCA All-America honors last season and was a semifinalist for the Patrick Mannelly Award, went without an errant snap in 2022, helping the Irish go 43-for-43 for PAT kicks and 13-18 on field goal attempts.

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Notre Dame’s milk man to return for a 6th season

You know him for his nickname but not for what he does and that’s a good thing. It’s also good he’s coming back.

If you’re a casual Notre Dame football fan you may have heard the name [autotag]Michael Vinson[/autotag] before but upon hearing it now, you may not remember why.  That’s a very good thing for him and for Notre Dame’s special teams unit.

Why?

Because Vinson, as some of you are already aware, is Notre Dame’s long snapper and a fine one at that.  More commonly known as “Milk”, Vinson was a semi-finalist for The Patrick Mannelly Award (which does tremendous work in the city of Chicago annually).  If you don’t know his name it’s likely because he does his job and isn’t in the headlines for his errors.

Notre Dame’s special teams received some pleasant news Friday as Vinson, Milk, announced he’ll be back for his sixth and final year of eligibility in 2023.

Hopefully, next year will be another year where he again remains a relative unknown for all of the right reasons.

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Notre Dame’s Michael Vinson makes watch list for Mannelly Award

Here’s hoping Vinson can get this type of recognition in 2022.

The long snapper might be the most unheralded position in football. Very little fanfare is given to it, but it’s just as important as the other 10 positions out on the field at the moment of truth. Fortunately, the Patrick Mannelly Award was created in 2019 to be presented to the best long snapper in college football. Notre Dame’s [autotag]Michael Vinson[/autotag] has made the watch list for this year’s award.

Although the Mannelly Award hasn’t been around for very long, the Irish benefited from it immediately upon its establishment. The first recipient of the award was [autotag]John Shannon[/autotag]. Though Shannon never played football again after that, it sure was a nice way to go out. His departure paved the way for Vinson to become the top long snapper, and Vinson has held the fort down ever since.

It’s hard to tell how Vinson will do this season, but at least the experts have high hopes for him.

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Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Preseason bowl projections: Hurricane warning for Notre Dame?

It’s a U…of Notre Dame thing.

As the college football regular season inches closer and closer, we’ve been getting hit with more and more preseason predictions and projections for how just about every one of the 131 Football Bowl Subdivision programs will do. The latest is a set of bowl projections for every bowl game this season from veteran college football scribe Bill Bender of The Sporting News.

Bender sends Notre Dame to a bowl game we’ve seen several outlets project the Irish to already, but the opponent Bender projects is about as compelling a potential bowl opponent as there could be for the Irish, short of it being someone in the College Football Playoff.

Bill Bender’s Notre Dame Bowl Projection:

Orange Bowl – December 30, 2022
Notre Dame vs. Miami (FL)

If Notre Dame isn’t playing in the College Football Playoff (which I’m not sold on to be frank), then go ahead and sign me up for this one. The disaster that was the 2017 game at Miami, where the Irish were obliterated, 41-8, still leaves a bad taste in any Notre Dame fan’s mouth.

And whenever you put Notre Dame and Miami in the same sentence, the collective antenna of college football fans everywhere is raised.

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Notre Dame long-snapper announces new NIL deal

What is your go-to milk choice?

There have been so many players across the college sports landscape that have gotten deals from different businesses to endorse products and make some money this season.  It’s long overdue and while some are especially cashing in, it’s hard for me to believe many are making life changing money.

Although during my college years I would have considered even an extra 25 bucks a week to be life changing.

Notre Dame long snapper Michael Vinson is the latest Fighting Irish football player to announce an endorsement as he did so with American Dairy Association Indiana on Friday.  It’s a match made in heaven for a player that goes by the nickname “Milk“.

Vinson shared the following tweet to make the announcement:

Congratulations on the deal and I hope they supply your living quarters with all of the milk it can possibly drink.

Next time though it might be a good idea to throw a pair of shoes on before posing for the picture!

Related:

Notre Dame-Virginia: Staff Predictions

Detailing Notre Dame’s map to a CFP appearance

ESPN FPI projects Notre Dame’s final three games of 2021

Notre Dame-Virginia: Seven prop bets for Saturday night

Notre Dame’s strength of wins among very best in nation

Notre Dame’s Michael Vinson makes Patrick Mannelly Award Watch List

Yes, even long snappers get honored in college football.

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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.

Notre Dame football: Vinson Tabbed as Nominee for Burlsworth Trophy

A Notre Dame walk-on was nominated for a national award on Tuesday. Find out the details to all of it now.

NOTRE DAME, Indiana — Notre Dame junior long snapper Michael Vinson has been tabbed as a nominee for the 2020 Burlsworth Trophy, honoring the nation’s top walk-on college football player. Wide receiver Chris Finke was the most recent Notre Dame player to be nominated for the honor (2018, 2019).

Vinson won the job as Irish starting long snapper after the graduation of John Shannon, the inaugural winner of the Patrick Mannelly Award for the nation’s top long snapper in 2019. Vinson has seen action in all 10 games this season. He had previously made his collegiate debut in 2019 vs. Bowling Green.

As a freshman and sophomore, Vinson served on the scout punt team. He also was integral to team operations on the road, serving as the defensive card holder and recording stats for special teams. He also served as scout center during road walkthroughs.

Additionally, over the past summer, Vinson was the scout team quarterback in walkthrough sessions.

As a high school student, Vinson began his college search process in his sophomore year, initially looking at colleges without football in mind. Notre Dame special teams coordinator and recruiting coordinator Brian Polian visited New Trier High School, and after watching Vinson, encouraged him to attend Notre Dame’s specialists camp. Vinson won the camp and was extended the offer for a preferred walk-on position, which he accepted in September of his senior year.

Growing up near Chicago, Vinson was familiar with Notre Dame, and was attracted by the family aspect of the football program and the university at large, in addition to the tradition of the team and the school. He is now majoring in political science with a minor in real estate.