In late January, Rocco Spindler stood in front of his stone-clad house having just received a silver anvil. He kissed the top of the anvil, before hoisting it above his head. Snow covered the ground and adjacent shrubbery; a navy and gold “Irish” flag flapped atop a nearby pole.
“Let’s go,” he said, grinning in a flannel shirt.
Rocco had just won the 2020 State Champ Anvil Award, presented to the best high school lineman or linebacker in Michigan. Filming the event with his iPhone, his father, Marc, kicked the air and shouted in jubilation.
This was the cherry atop the high school career of the 6-4, 295-pound Notre Dame offensive lineman, already enrolled for the 2021 spring semester. As a high school freshman, his Clarkston Wolves won a state championship. Later, he was named a 2018 MaxPreps first-team Sophomore All-American and a 2020 Under Armour All-American.
The Anvil Award was an accolade he wanted, but wasn’t sure he’d receive.
Likely an offensive guard in South Bend, Rocco played on both sides of the ball throughout his prep career, but developed his nasty streak — a mentality fueled by unrelenting passion and aggression — playing defense.
That’s why his father, who played nine NFL seasons along the defensive line for the Detroit Lions and the New York Jets, will still yearn for the days he watched his son burst through the line to swallow the running back or sack the quarterback and then celebrate with a Ric Flair-esque stomp.
