Notre Dame football kickoff countdown previews No. 96 Joseph Vinci

We've officially entered the countdown to the Notre Dame football season, with less than 100 days to go. As part of our exciting build-up to what promises to be a stellar campaign, we'll be spotlighting a different player from the Fighting Irish roster each day. 

Curious about how we're choosing the player to feature each day? It's a fun twist: we're highlighting a player who wears the same number as the number of days left until the Irish start their season. 

Notre Dame football kickoff countdown previews No. 96 Joseph Vinci

Today's player is one that Fighting Irish fans are likely not all that familiar with. With 96 days to go, the focus falls on freshman long-snapper Joseph Vinci. 

Vinci committed to the Irish as a preferred walk-on back in September of 2023 and signed on the dotted line last December.  The Notre Dame staff sees Vinci as a unique talent, not just a typical walk-on. It's highly likely he'll be the starting long snapper this fall, or at the very least competing for a starting spot, even without a scholarship in hand.

To underline how different recruiting someone like Vinci is, he was considered the number three long-snapper in the entire country. The schools he visited before he committed to Notre Dame is really all the proof you need that he's more talented than his profile might tell you.

At 6 feet, 4 inches tall and 230 pounds, Vinci has good size for a long snapper and visited five Division I football schools during the summer of 2023. In addition to Notre Dame, his visits included Michigan, Boston College, North Carolin, and Virginia.

As a bonus, Vinci graduated early from Westwood High School in Massachusetts. That allowed him to join the Notre Dame football team for spring practices and work with special teams ahead of his first season in South Bend.