Notre Dame Was A No Brainer For Snapper Joseph Vinci

Notre Dame received some big news on Monday when they received a commitment from 2024 Westwood (Mass.) High School long snapper Joseph Vinci as a preferred walk-on. It’s a position that has long been under-appreciated by Irish fans but long snapper has been a consistent strong point of the program for a long time.

The 6-4, 230-pound Vinci is considered arguably the top long snapper in the 2024 class. Rubio Long Snapping is one of the most trusted evaluators of specialists. They rank Vinci as a five-star specialist on their scale, as well as being the No. 3 long snapper in the country, which makes getting Vinci as a walk-on even more impressive.

Ultimately, Notre Dame is a school that Vinci has known for a long time. It was a dream of sorts for him to be a member of the Irish team.

"Notre Dame is one of the best schools in the country and on the academic side of things it is almost a no brainer,” Vinci told Irish Breakdown. "On top of that the alumni and connections to be made are endless. I feel that this is a decision that can set me up for the future after football. I grew up watching Notre Dame and it’s been a dream of mine to go there so getting this opportunity was an easy choice.”

Notre Dame just brought too much to the table. It became an easy decision for Vinci, despite having a long list of suitors, including a scholarship offer from Boston College.

"I love the tradition and culture of Notre Dame as it is iconic and unique,” he said. "Football is huge at Notre Dame and being able to witness my first game day in South Bend was surreal.

"In addition to that, there is a huge emphasis on special teams,” Vinci continued. "Most schools I have visited have coordinators who coach other positions but Notre Dame is great in the fact that they have two coaches who are strictly special teams. Also, the opportunity to be coached by Coach (Marty) Biagi and Coach (Jesse) Schmidt is awesome because they have played the positions.”

With Michael Vinson leaving after this season, there is going to be an opportunity for a new long snapper to ascend to the starting spot. There’s no reason that can’t be Vinci, who is planning on coming in and being the best teammate possible.

"I know that I can bring a positive attitude and hard working mindset to the team,” said Vinci. "Being a specialist your job is very specific and I got to be focused on doing the best job I can while being the best teammate possible.”

Notre Dame was not the only school who valued Vinci tremendously. They had to stand fall against several big program, and they did just that.

"Boston College was definitely high on my list,” Vinci explained. "Virginia was also up there as well. Going into this trip for the Ohio State game I figured that if I was to get offered it would be a very difficult decision.

"Shortly after being there I realized that it was where I wanted to be,” Vinci continued. "When I got offered the morning after the game it was a clear choice for my family and I. With that being said I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity and I’m excited to be back for USC.”

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Irish Breakdown Content

2023 Scholarship Chart
2023 Football Schedule

Notre Dame 2024 Scholarship Offers

2024 Commit Rankings - Offense
2024 Commit Rankings - Defense

2023 Recruiting Class Grades - Offense
2023 Recruiting Class Grades - Defense

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