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The New England Patriots have had a few legendary kickers, but none as iconic as Adam Vinatieri. Now his son is beginning his college football journey.
AJ Vinatieri is a kicker/punter set to take his talents to college. At one point, the young Vinatieri was headed to the University of Massachusetts, but according to his Twitter account, he has decommitted from UMass.
There was no reason given for Vinatieri’s decommitment, but because he announced his recruitment “is now 100% open,” it’s safe to say he could land at any interested school in the country.
While we’re still at least three years away from the start of an NFL career, Patriots fans would probably get a kick out of (no pun intended) a second-generation Vinatieri having a chance to recreate some of his father’s magic in Foxborough.
Adam Vinatieri’s Legendary Career
Vinatieri, a four-time Super Bowl champion, three-time All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowler made the NFL’s Hall of Fame team for the 2000s. He is in the conversation for greatest kickers of all time.
The ageless wonder played an incredible 24 seasons with the Patriots and Indianapolis Colts. Vinatieri hung up his cleats at the age of 47 in 2019. He led the NFL in field-goal accuracy three times (twice with New England). Vinatieri retired with a career accuracy rate of 83.8%. Vinatieri is the NFL’s all-time leading scorer. He’s won Super Bowls with clutch kicks and made mounds of other memorable moments with his leg, but gaining a Hall-of-Fame call from Canton, Ohio can be difficult for kickers. Still, it seems as if Vinatieri should gain entry into the Patriots Hall of Fame sometime soon.
If Vinatieri does get the Canton call, there has been some debate as to whether he’d go in as a member of the Patriots or Colts. Vinatieri played for the Colts for 14 seasons compared to just 10 for the Patriots. However, the majority of Vinatieri’s iconic moments came while he was in New England.
Aside from setting the record for most all-time points in NFL history, the remainder of Vinatieri’s legend-making kicks came as a Patriots. In fact, Clutch Points’ Tyler Ash ranked the five most iconic kicks of Vinatieri’s career and moments with New England took the top four spots.
Vinatieri will be eligible to elected to the Hall of Fame in 2025. As of now, only two pure kickers (Jan Stenerud and Morten Anderson) are in the Hall of Fame. If Vinatieri doesn’t join them when he is eligible, there should be an investigation.
The Skinny on UMass’ Football Program
The UMass football program has seen better days. They are coming off a horrendous 2021 season that saw them go a forgettable 1-11 on the year.
Their lone win was a 27-13 victory over UConn on October 9. Quite frankly, most of their games weren’t even close. The Minutemen lost by two or more TDs in 10 of their 11 losses. In that lone game when they didn’t lose by 14 or more, they fell to Rhode Island by 13.
While a kicker/punter is never going to be a major factor in turning around such a struggling program, not getting the son of a local legend is just the latest in a string of losses for the program.
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