Michigan Football: Landing 2021 4-star Rocco Spindler is essential

Michigan football is hosting a number of key recruits, including some top in-state prospects, highlighted by Rocco Spindler, an elite offensive lineman.

It’s a big weekend for the Michigan football program as a number of recruits make their way to Ann Arbor for visits. One of those guys, just happens to be the No. 2 in-state prospect for 2021, Rocco Spindler.

Spindler, from Clarkston, Michigan, is an absolute beast. He’s 6-foot-4, 295 pounds and is a guy that could do well either as a defensive tackle or an offensive lineman. The Wolverines have been recruiting him to the offensive side, where he is ranked by the 247 composite rankings as the No. 6 offensive tackle in the 2021 class.

But reeling in the one of the top prospects in the state of Michigan isn’t going to be easy, especially with Ohio State hot on his trail. Spindler has also visited the Buckeyes and has strong ties with Greg Mattison, who started recruiting Spinder while he was still coaching at U-M.

Here’s what Spindler told The Michigan Insider’s Sam Webb ($) about Ohio State:

"“When he was at Michigan it was, ‘don’t go to Ohio State… don’t go to Ohio State.’  Then as soon as he went to Ohio State I called him and said, ‘I was going to go to Michigan because of you, but now since you’re at Ohio State. I don’t think I can go to Ohio State because you said go to Michigan.’ (Laughter) I bust his chops a lot.”"

However, Spindler also had positive things to say about Michigan football too, especially the coaching investment on the offensive line, which is about more than just Ed Warriner, who has done a fantastic job and could send as many as four players into the NFL next season.

The Wolverines also employ Juan Castillo and Brandon Blainey, two experienced coaches and that was something Spindler mentioned to Webb about Michigan ($):

"“They’ve got so many guys there. You can definitely see what they’re producing now. “They are really starting to get after it and they’re doing an awesome job. You can really see that with (Jalen) Mayfield. He’s starting as a redshirt freshman, so something like that is something you look forward to.”"

In the last recruiting cycle, the state of Michigan had an elite recruit get away in Justin Rogers and the Wolverines can’t allow that to happen again, especially not to Ohio State. Right now, Michigan is the favorite according to 247’s crystal ball projections but we will see if that holds true.

As of now, U-M seems to be on solid ground and another positive visit this weekend could help improve their standing even more.