2021 in-state four-star OL Rocco Spindler sets commitment date

One of Michigan’s top targets in the entire 2021 class has his commitment date locked in.

Rocco Spindler, a four-star offensive lineman from Clarkston, is going to announce his commitment on Aug. 8, he said in an interview with The Detroit News. This means Spindler will not be able to make any of his official visits before making his commitment, an ever-growing trend in the 2021 class due to the pandemic.

Back in May, Spindler released a top five of Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State and LSU. To this point, he has visited every finalist at least once except for LSU, which is where his four-star offensive lineman teammate Garrett Dellinger committed last month.

The Detroit News also reports Spindler turned down an invite to play his senior season at IMG Academy, which is where McCarthy and four-star offensive lineman Greg Crippen are slated to play this upcoming season.

“I had a big decision to make between Clarkston and IMG and I’m really loyal to Clarkston and the community that supports me,” Spindler told The Detroit News. “IMG wanted me to come, but I told them no.

“I sat down with the coaches (at Clarkston) and they felt pretty confident that we’d have a season and I know everybody is shooting for a fall season. If we don’t have a season and it gets moved to spring it’s unfortunate, but I’m staying here. If we don’t play I still had a great career, went to two state championship games, won one (in 2017), lost one (in 2018).”

At this juncture, it seems like the top two schools are Michigan and Notre Dame, with the other three schools being a distant third, fourth and fifth. He has talked very highly of Ed Warinner and company, and is very close with five-star quarterback commit J.J. McCarthy. But he is reportedly also close with Notre Dame’s staff and several commits in the Fighting Irish’s 2021 class. This is going to be a close finish, so stay tuned.

Spindler is the No. 3 guard, No. 3 player in the state of Michigan and No. 50 overall player in the class, per 247Sports’ composite.