Michigan Football: Handicapping race for 4-star Rocco Spindler

Michigan football is locked in a recruiting battle for four-star offensive lineman Rocco Spindler and here’s the latest on his recruitment.

In a few short weeks, Michigan football fans will finally get a decision from 2021 recruiting target Rocco Spindler, as he is set to make his announcement on Aug. 8.

His recruitment has been a lengthy process for the Wolverines, who have been there from the beginning. He has long been a priority, which isn’t a surprise given that he’s ranked 50th overall by the 247 sports composite rankings and third in the state of Michigan.

Make no mistake, Spindler is the kind of prospect you expect to play early. He’s got an NFL-caliber body already and no one is asking whether he can transition in the Big Ten or at Notre Dame, the other school in the mix.

He’s the classic Michigan football O-lineman. I harken back to the days of Steve Hutchinson, that’s the kind of player Rocco could be and he just seems like the kind of dude made to play at U-M.

But with the decision looming in a few weeks, Sam Webb of The Michigan Insider paid a visit to Spindler and his dad and brought back some interesting results.

Webb said his opinion going into the visit was that Spindler was down to Michigan and Notre Dame, which is something he still believes. He also had a crystal ball projection in for Spindler to the Wolverines with a confidence rating of five out of 10. He’s sticking with that ($) after his visit.

One key thing is that Spindler definitely seems focused on development and if that’s the case, Michigan will have a big edge with offensive line coach Ed Warinner. Just last April, Michigan sent four guys into the NFL draft and Jalen Mayfield is getting looked at as a future first-rounder.

Here’s a key quote Spindler gave to Webb ($):

"“I want to have the best development. I want them to coach me on the field. I want them to push me past my limits. But also, I want to have a relationship off the field, almost like a family.”"

Rocco has a good relationship with Notre Dame, but the Wolverines might have the edge on the family atmosphere, especially thanks to Matt Dudek, the director of recruiting, who contacted Spindler first to wish him a happy birthday recently.

The crystal ball picks are split 50/50 and both sides feel good here. But Webb has a pick for Michigan, as does EJ Holland of Rivals and both spoke recently to Rocco and came away with their pick to U-M intact.

To be clear a decision is still in the works, Webb grabbed this quote ($) too from Rocco:

"“I’m still figuring it out,” Rocco said. “We have a big family discussion coming up in the next few weeks. And we’re going to talk things over… the pros and cons of each school… talk to some of the coaches, and we’ll see what the best fit for me.”"

There are positive signs for Rocco but his mind doesn’t seem to be made up. If it was, I’d still guess that he was leaning Michigan.

All the Notre Dame experts feel good and they did about Braiden McGregor in the 2020 too. It will just come as a surprise to me if Spindler ends up with the Irish over the Wolverines.