Rivals100 OL Rocco Spindler Announces Top Five Schools
Clarkston (Mich.) High class of 2021 offensive lineman Rocco Spindler narrowed down his recruitment to five schools on Friday evening.
Making the cut for the four-star prospect is LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Penn State.
On March 2, Spindler announced his top 10 schools, and the five schools in his current top group were all included. Alabama, Arizona State, Florida, Oklahoma and Tennessee did not make his new list.
Spindler is a longtime target for the Fighting Irish and is easily one of the most important prospects on the board.
Spindler was going to visit Notre Dame March 20, which was well known, and the Rivals100 product also confirmed to BlueandGold.com that he was going to officially visit Brian Kelly’s program April 3 as well.
“It’s changed dramatically,” Spindler said of his recruiting process. “I have to push everything back; I don’t want to rush it. I have a system, which is to take all of my official visits, see what my best option is, give [the schools] a week notice and have a big commitment day at my school.”
Rivals ranks Spindler as the No. 3 player in Michigan, and the nation's No. 3 offensive guard and No. 56 overall player.
There are currently six FutureCast picks in for Spindler — four of them for Notre Dame and two for Michigan.
On April 7, Rivals.com Midwest recruiting analyst Josh Helmholdt wrote a story “Ranking the Contenders” in Spindler's recruitment.
“This is one of the most difficult calls for the No. 1 spot among the top 100 recruits,” Helmholdt wrote. “Officially, Spindler still has a top 10, but everyone who has followed this recruitment agrees that right now it looks like a battle between Michigan and Notre Dame. Six months ago, I would have definitely put Michigan in this top spot. Notre Dame, however, has closed the gap in recent months and may have a slight edge.
“In a race this close, little things can sway the momentum to one side or the other. Spindler was not able to complete previously planned visits to South Bend early in the spring, but he did have a chance encounter with former head coach Lou Holtz in February that clearly made an impression. This battle is close, but I’m giving the slight edge to Notre Dame right now.”
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