Notre Dame 99-to-0: No. 65 Michael Vinson, sixth-year long snapper, four-year starter

Listed measurements: 6-foot-2, 235 pounds. 2023-24 year, eligibility: A sixth-year veteran, this will be Vinson’s final season of eligibility. Depth Chart: Vinson will be Notre Dame’s starting long snapper for a fourth straight season, backed up by preferred walk-on Rino Monteforte. Recruiting: Vinson turned down a scholarship at Army and preferred walk-on paths at both Mississippi State and Northwestern. Instead, he took the longer walk-on route with the Irish, eventually earning a scholarship following the 2021 season.

CAREER TO DATE Initially, Vinson prolonging his career for a sixth season was a surprise, simply because tracking more than five years of eligibility can be confounding.

Not playing as a freshman in 2018 can be chalked up as his prototypical eligibility-preserving season. Vinson thus burned a year with two appearances in 2019, but the universal pandemic eligibility waiver effectively gave back that year in 2020. Playing in every game in 2021 and 2022 served as using his second and third seasons of eligibility.

He will end his Notre Dame career with four years of starting duty, rather wild considering Vinson played just two games in his first two seasons. He should end up with 53 career appearances.

QUOTES A generic question for Vinson in early April began by blandly saying, “You’ve been in this program for a long time,” to which Vinson cut the reporter short.

“Long time,” Vinson reiterated.

NAME, IMAGE, LIKENESS Nicknamed “Milk,” Vinson landing access to the 2022 Indianapolis 500 remains one of the single-best uses of NIL rights.

A post shared by Michael Vinson (@michael_vinson65)

WHAT WAS PROJECTED A YEAR AGO “Not much has changed from last year’s projection. Vinson has not