Decision Expected Soon for Top Pitt OL Target

Pitt has emerged as a landing spot for one of the top players in the transfer portal, and it appears that a decision will be coming soon.

Notre Dame transfer Rocco Spindler — a 6-foot-5, 325-pound interior offensive lineman from Clarkston, Mich. — is expected to make a decision in the next 24 hours, Pete Nakos of On3 reported.

Spindler visited Pitt this week and has also visited Indiana, Nebraska and Virginia. It appears Michigan isn’t in the running — and only Nebraska and Pitt currently have Spindler listed in their respective student indexes.

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Nakos reported that Spindler isn’t expected to make any further visits, after checking out Pitt on Thursday and Virginia on Friday.

Spindler is the son of former Pitt Panther, Marc Spindler. The elder Spindler was selected in the 1990 NFL Draft and spent nearly a decade in the NFL.

The younger Spindler was a top recruit out of high school, a consensus top 100 recruit in the class of 2021, and chose Notre Dame over offers from Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Penn State, Pitt, Tennessee and Wisconsin.

Spindler is an experienced lineman, making 23 starts over the last two seasons for the Fighting Irish. He went down with an injury at the end of the 2023 season, missed the first three games of this season and returned to the lineup following his recovery — sticking in the lineup through the Irish’s championship game appearance.

According to PFF, Spindler played 747 offensive snaps this season. He allowed 10 pressures and zero sacks. And he has well over 1,300 offensive snaps under his belt — mostly at guard.

Pitt lost Branson Taylor to injury this season (and subsequently to the NFL Draft), which forced Ryan Baer from right tackle to left tackle. It opened a massive hole on the offensive line. Lyndon Cooper and BJ Williams are set to return at center and guard, respectively, but Pitt needed to revamp the unit.

The Pitt coaching staff looked to upgrade its starting unit and supplement its depth via the portal. Kendall Stanley, Keith Gouveia and Jeffrey Persi were added from the portal, supplementing at tackle and guard, respectively, but the coaching staff still wants more.

Spindler would be a home run addition for multiple reasons, but obviously, it won’t be easy to secure his signature.