When the Nebraska football landed Notre Dame transfer offensive lineman Rocco Spindler over the winter, it was one of the biggest portal wins in the Matt Rhule era. Pro Football Focus underlined exactly why it was such a big deal on Tuesday.
PFF put out its first team Big Ten list this week, and unsurprisingly, considering the question marks on the Cornhuskers, didn't have too many representatives. In fact, the only member of NU that made the list was Spindler.
What the Notre Dame transfer means for the Nebraska football 2025 offensive line overhaul
The new Nebraska football player joins Iowa's right tackle Gennings Dunker, Opegon's Iapani Laloulu, Penn State's Olaivavega Ioane, and Indiana 's Carter Smith.
The Notre Dame transfer joins Nebraska after spending four seasons with the Fighting Irish. He played in 40 games for Notre Dame at right guard, starting in 23 of them. That included starting most of the season for the Irish in 2024 as they made a run all the way to the National Title game.
Spindler got his first chance of action during his freshman season in 2021, playing in two games before redshirting. He then played in 12 games as a sophomore in 2022, before earning the starting role in 2023. The 6-foot-5, 320-pound lineman got 10 starts in 2023, helping the Fighting Irish rank second in school history in scoring and yards per play.
Before joining the Fighting Irish, Spindler graduated from Clarkson High School in Michigan with a four-star rating and ESPN tabbing him as the nation’s No. 1 offensive guard.
Now the former Fighting Irish star will be counted on to anchor a new-look Nebraska football offensive line as they look to improve on a 7-6 2024 campaign.