Notre Dame needed some good news on the recruiting front on Friday following news that SDE David Abiara is considering flipping his commitment to Oklahoma. That news came in the form of elite OL Rocco Spindler releasing a top 5 that includes Notre Dame.
The FINAL FIVE… pic.twitter.com/iJqv3GEDmE
— Rocco Spindler (@RoccoSpindler92) May 22, 2020
The battle for Spindler is down to Notre Dame, the Big Ten elite (Michigan, Penn State, Ohio State), and LSU. None of the schools listed should be a surprise including Notre Dame. The Irish have long been considered one of the favorites for Spindler.
For Notre Dame’s class of 2021 recruiting efforts, Spindler is an absolute must get at this point. Notre Dame lost Caleb Johnson to Auburn last week and back in April they lost Tandon Tengwall to Penn State who have been a major thorn in Notre Dame’s side this recruiting cycle on the offensive line.
Spindler, the #44 overall prospect in the country, is a recruit that the Irish have to have if they want to have any chance at even a top-10 recruiting class at this point.
Notre Dame needs to add at least two more offensive linemen in this recruiting cycle on top of tackle Blake Fisher – a top 100 overall prospect – and guard Pat Coogan. Spindler would pair well with Coogan, who isn’t as polished as a prospect, on the interior of the offensive line in this class.
Another offensive lineman, Tristan Bounds, very unofficially visited Notre Dame and Michigan earlier this week to get a feel for the campuses. Bounds, like Coogan, is more of a developmental prospect who Notre Dame could team with someone like Fisher in this class potentially. Notre Dame can afford that luxury at tackle because they already have Fisher locked in. They need to do the same with Spindler at guard.
The Irish still have a lot of work to do on the offensive line in this class, but making Spindler’s top 5 is at least some progress. Until official campus visits are allowed again though, Notre Dame, like every other university, is still in scramble mode.
We would love to get Spindler, but calling him a “must get” is a bit overstated. Notre Dame’s offensive line will be better with him, but will do fine without him. If that weren’t true, the program would be in trouble.