Listening to their stories, Vinson decided to remain at Alabama A&M throughout his college career, even when he became an NFL prospect and bigger schools enticed him to transfer.
“I’m from Cary, North Carolina, and N.C. State is right here. Duke is right here. [The University of] North Carolina is right here,” Vinson said. “None of them wanted me, and I slipped through the cracks.
“But, Alabama A&M, they found me. They took me in with open arms. I wanted to go to [North] Carolina, and they came back calling around my junior or senior year, and I wasn’t going to go because they didn’t want me out of high school. It was really just a chip on my shoulder that I took throughout college. I said, ‘OK, I’m going to do it from the school that wanted me first.”‘
The chip that Vincent carries on his shoulder made the trip from Alabama A&M to Baltimore. In conversation, Vinson is gregarious and smiles often, but don’t be fooled. When the 6-foot-7, 314-pound Vinson goes into football mode, he’s powerful and tenacious.
General Manager Eric DeCosta immediately got a taste of Vinson’s strength during his pre-draft visit to Baltimore. DeCosta said when he greeted Vincent with a handshake, he “almost broke my hand.”
“He was leaving my office, and I just looked at him and said, ‘I’m good,'” DeCosta quipped.
Head Coach John Harbaugh saw Vincent’s potential at rookie minicamp. Players were not wearing pads, but Harbaugh loved the way Vincent carried himself.
“He’s big, he’s rangy, he’s got long arms, he’s high cut, and he can really move,” Harbaugh said. “He moves his feet really well.
“I look at that frame, and you say, ‘Man, we can grow so much into that,’ and he’s got to get in that weight room and get to work right away. He’s kind of like a young colt out there, trying to learn how to control that frame.”