3 thoughts on Rocco Spindler’s commitment to Nebraska football

The transfer portal recruitment of Rocco Spindler was a wild one. In the end, though, Nebraska football landed the commitment of the Notre Dame transfer.

Rhule No. 1: Run the Damn Ball pic.twitter.com/tjuRbhlmde

— Rocco Spindler (@RoccoSpindler92) February 2, 2025

Nebraska football hosted Spindler for a visit on Tuesday. He left without a commitment. The 23-game starter for Notre Dame visited Pittsburgh and Virginia. After some projections for the Huskers late in the week, Husker Online’s Sean Callahan projected Spindler to Virginia based on a $1 million NIL offer.

However, by Sunday morning, the tide had turned. Nebraska probably matched the offer. The opportunity is clear for what will be Spindler’s final season of college football and here are three thoughts on his commitment.

Nebraska football offensive line has been upgraded

The Huskers lost two starters from the 2024 offensive line and they have now added two dudes who started double-digit games for Alabama and Notre Dame.

Elijah Pritchett will serve as the replacement for Bryce Benhart. Spindler will essentially replace Ben Scott. I know that might not make sense but Spindler will be a guard, which will allow Justin Evans to move to center, which is his natural position according to Matt Rhule.

Henry Lutovsky, who started 11 games at right guard last season, will be back after offseason surgery. Turner Corcoran could be in the mix along with Grant Brix and Gibson Pyle.

Spindler isn’t a tackle and Nebraska may have overspent a little, but who cares? Nobody is going to mind this season when Spindler gives the Huskers a quality season at guard.

The domino effect

I just mentioned it, but even though Spindler isn’t a tackle, he can help the Huskers have more depth at tackle. Matt Rhule said that Brix was an offensive tackle before.

Last season, he was listed on the depth chart at guard. If Luvotsky is healthy, Brix could focus on tackle and be the swing guy (backup for both LT and RT) next season.

The Huskers are still thin on depth and they will look for another offensive tackle this spring, but the offensive line — every position — is in a better spot thanks to the addition of Spindler.

1890 getting it done again

You have to give the 1890 initiative credit for this one. That’s probably not the entire reason Spindler chose Nebraska over Virginia but if the money was equal, where would you play?

Nebraska plays in a better conference, has a big-time quarterback, and Spindler will have a great opportunity to play against some of the best defensive lines in college football as he tries to boost his NFL draft stock.

With so few proven offensive linemen in the portal, it’s not surprising that Spindler’s recruitment turned into a bidding war. All things being equal, Nebraska felt like the perfect destination.

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