Despite an extremely strong push from Michigan, Penn State, LSU and Ohio State, Clarkston (Mich.) high school four-star offensive guard Rocco Spindler committed to Notre Dame. This is a big win for the Fighting Irish, as he is one of the top overall players in the 2021 class.
The 6-5, 315-pounder got head coach Brian Kelly an offensive line coach Jeff Quinn for being important in his recruitment because he has a very long relationship with both coaches. In addition, he connected well with offensive coordinator Tommy Rees and special teams coordinator / recruitment coordinator Brian Polian as well as.
Per the 247Sports Composite Rankings, Spindler is the No. 48 overall player in America, no. 3 offensive guard in the country and no. 3 recruits in Michigan from the class of 2021. 247Sports lists him as the No. 78 general player in America, No. 5 offensive guard in the country and no. 4 recruits in Michigan from the 2021 class.
I first predicted Notre Dame to land Spindler back on September 30, 2018. It was then that I felt great about the Fighting Irish that the team was about to defeat. It looked like Notre Dame would eventually become the landing site. Almost a year later in August 2019, I felt like this was a true 50-50 battle between Notre Dame and Michigan. Penn State made a run, but it always seemed like it was a battle between the Fighting Irish and Wolverines. Since it was such a throw, I decided to go “Foggy” on the 247Sports Crystal Ball. I’m sure there was no real leader back then, so going back to the drawing board just made sense. On March 3, 2020, I felt like that was the point where I had enough information to choose Notre Dame a second and final time. I wanted to make sure this was my definitive prediction, that I checked with every possible source when making the call. Spindler’s relationships with the coaching staff, his remarks about Kelly and Quinn, his interest in the program, his connection to the committees that play after Fighting Irish, everything he had to say pointed to Notre Dame. At the same time, 247Sports made the ‘Confidence Meter’ and I went with an 8 out of 10. Based on that all, my definitive prediction was Notre Dame.
Today, Spindler officially captured Notre Dame. Irish Illustrated was fired from its decision about two weeks ago, but this was essentially done more than a month ago behind the scenes. Spindler knew where he wanted to be and just made sure he had no regrets for decision day. He continued talking to both the Notre Dame and Michigan coaches until a week before making his announcement. He actually informed the staff of Notre Dame earlier this week and let the coaches know during a call from Zoom that he was on his way to play for the Fighting Irish. Needless to say, the Irish coaches were fired.
