Rocco Spindler: ‘We’re Talking About Building A Team Up In South Bend’
Clarkston (Mich.) High offensive lineman Rocco Spindler gets a majority of his schoolwork done in the morning and then gets to training in the afternoon.
“The grind doesn’t stop because there’s adversity in the way,” Spindler said. “I lift an hour or two a day.”
Then he will have a protein shake, do some more homework, have dinner and finish up on homework if there is anything left. Sprinkled throughout the day is of course plenty of texts and calls with college coaches, which adds to his busy day.
After Spindler is done with his duties for the day, it is time to chill. He hops on his video game console and plays with other top recruits.
“We hit each other up and ask if we want to play some Fortnite or Call Of Duty,” Spindler said. “I play with a lot of the Notre Dame guys, some Michigan guys.”
Alabama, Arizona State, Florida, LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame, Penn State, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Tennessee make up Spindler’s list of top offers, but the three Big Ten schools in his group — plus the Fighting Irish — are considered the top contenders in his recruitment.
While playing video games with various commits from each school, “recruiting” doesn’t happen too often.
“We really don’t talk about football and schools that much,” Spindler noted. “We might joke around a little bit, but we actually really get into [the video game]. We call out where different people are and who has better [items] and stuff. We’re really like a team.
“I might be playing with [Michigan quarterback commit] JJ McCarthy and [Notre Dame offensive tackle commit] Blake Fisher on the same team. We’re just gaming it out and working as a team to get a victory. We usually don’t talk about schools that much.”
Fisher is known as Notre Dame’s vocal leader in the 2021 class and works hard on recruiting Spindler and other top prospects. If there is one committed prospect who does recruit him while playing video games more than others, it is Fisher. But the Irish pledge certainly does not overdo it.
“He does recruit on there, but it’s not as much as when he calls me up,” Spindler said. “He’s in it to win it. He will mention some things about Notre Dame. I know he’s trying to get Nolan Rucci and Rayshaun Benny — I’ve been playing with those guys and Pat Coogan.
“We’re talking about building a team up in South Bend.”
Rivals ranks Spindler as a four-star talent, the No. 3 recruit in Michigan, and the No. 2 offensive guard and No. 55 overall prospect in the nation.
----
• Talk about it inside Rockne’s Roundtable
• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue & Gold Illustrated.
• Follow us on Twitter: @BGINews, @BGI_LouSomogyi, @BGI_MikeSinger, @PatrickEngel_, @ToddBurlage and @AndrewMentock.
• Like us on Facebook.