There'll be a player with the last name Vinatieri regularly kicking footballs in Massachusetts this fall for the first time since 2005.
AJ Vinatieri, the son of New England Patriots legend Adam Vinatieri, announced on Monday that he'd committed to UMass-Amherst, where he'll play for the Minutemen and head coach Don Brown.
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AJ Vinatieri both kicked and punted for Zionsville High School in Indiana, the state where his father played the final 14 seasons of his career for the Indianapolis Colts. He was an All-State punter as a senior last fall.
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One of Vinatieri's nephews, Chase Vinatieri, had kicked collegiately at South Dakota State, Adam's alma mater, from 2015-20.
AJ Vinatieri chose UMass over seven other schools at various levels of NCAA and NAIA competition, including South Dakota State. The Minutemen, who finished 1-11 last season, were the lone FBS program to offer him a scholarship.
New England Patriots
Adam Vinatieri, who signed with the Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 1996, is the NFL's all-time leading scorer with 2,673 points over 24 seasons in New England and Indianapolis. He won three Super Bowls with the Patriots, kicking a game-winning field goal in all three, and a fourth with the Colts before retiring after the 2019 season at age 47.