Notre Dame transfer Rocco Spindler makes PFF College First Team Preseason All-Big Ten
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.
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.
His performance on the Notre Dame helped him become a 2023 Joe Moore Award Semifinalist. Spindler then started the final 13 games of the 2024 season, guiding Notre Dame to the College Football Playoff championship game.
Before joining the Fighting Irish, Spindler emerged from Clarkson High School in Michigan with a four-star rating and ESPN tabbing him as the nation's No. 1 offensive guard.
Contact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes, and opinions.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
a minute ago
- USA Today
Joel Klatt Gushes Over Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith
FOX Sports analyst Joel Klatt praises Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith, calling him possibly the best player he's seen since starting his college football coverage and predicting a legendary career ahead. FOX Sports analyst and commentator Joel Klatt has set sky-high expectations for Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith. Appearing on The Herd with Colin Cowherd, Klatt couldn't say enough about the Buckeyes' standout, praising his talent and potential with glowing enthusiasm. 'The quarterback is not going to be asked to be Superman for Ohio State,' Klatt said. They should be able to run it well, their defense should be solid, and they've got, I think, the best wide receiver that I've seen in college football since I've been covering college football in Jeremiah Smith. He might be the best player I've seen since I started covering college football. 'There's only two players that I felt like, as their true freshman year, they should be on an NFL field: Adrian Peterson and Jeremiah Smith… Smith is ridiculous. I think Jeremiah Smith — I mean, this is probably too much hype — Jeremiah Smith, if he just keeps working hard and developing, I think he has a chance to be a top five receiver in the history of football.' Joel Klatt's praise for Jeremiah Smith is nothing short of extraordinary, but after the freshman season Smith just had, it might not be so far off the mark. In his first year with the Buckeyes, Smith rewrote the record books. He set a new FBS freshman receiving record with 1,315 yards, finishing the season with 76 receptions, 15 receiving touchdowns, and even added a rushing score. Despite a quiet game against Texas in the College Football Playoff semifinal, where he managed just one catch for three yards, Smith still left a major impact on the postseason. Across four playoff games, he totaled 19 catches for 381 yards and five touchdowns. He found the end zone twice in both the Rose Bowl against Oregon and in the matchup against Tennessee. His performance in the Rose Bowl was especially electric, recording 7 receptions for 187 yards and 2 touchdowns. For his outstanding debut season, Smith was named Big Ten Receiver of the Year and earned First-Team All-American honors. With a résumé like that already in hand, Klatt's high expectations suddenly seem very realistic. As of today, Jeremiah Smith holds the fourth-best odds to win the Heisman Trophy, behind only three quarterbacks: Texas' Arch Manning, LSU's Garrett Nussmeier, and Clemson's Cade Klubnik. If Smith has already positioned himself among college football's elite after just one year, his rise is only beginning. All eyes will be on him when he returns to the field for his sophomore season opener as Ohio State faces Texas on August 30 at noon ET.
USA Today
a minute ago
- USA Today
What Oregon Ducks' non-conference future looks like after recent came cancellation
In the world of college football, there are numerous philosophies when it comes to crafting a non-conference schedule. Some fall into the camp that believes it is more beneficial to schedule lower-tier, non "Autonomous 4" teams to knock off some rust early in the season and not put stress on the roster before conference play begins. Other teams believe that scheduling high-profile non-conference games offers a great chance to test your roster and potentially boost your team into the College Football Playoff realm with a blockbuster September win. Your opinion on the matter likely relies on the size and gravitas that your school has, as some mid-tier programs need a blockbuster win in September to get into the playoff conversation, while other top-tier teams simply just need to get to November with a relatively clean record. For the Oregon Ducks, we've seen a little bit of both theories play out over the years. Back in 2022, the Ducks opened the season against the Georgia Bulldogs. They have also played the likes of the Ohio State Buckeyes, Oklahoma Sooners, Auburn Tigers, LSU Tigers, and Michigan State Spartans in the last two decades. We've also seen the small schools get scheduled, with Oregon often hosting the likes of Portland State, Idaho, Eastern Washington, and Stony Brook over the years as well. Going forward, Oregon is reportedly making a change in its scheduling. According to the Ducks have mutually agreed to cancel a series with the Utah State Aggies for the 2027 and 2028 seasons, while keeping a game scheduled for 2029 in Eugene. There are many potential reasons for this, the most likely of which is that it offers flexibility for Oregon when scheduling non-conference games against the Oregon State Beavers going forward. This is likely not the only scheduling change that Oregon will make over the next few years. While the calendar gets sorted out and teams around the nation continue to adjust in this new era of realignment and the College Football Playoff, things are more fluid than ever. For now, let's take a look at the current non-conference schedule for Oregon, which has been set, in part, out through 2033. Here are the non-conference games that the Ducks currently have scheduled, looking into the future: 2025: Montana State Bobcats Date: August 30, 2025 Location: Eugene, Oregon 2025: Oklahoma State Cowboys Date: September 6, 2025 Location: Eugene, Oregon 2025: Oregon State Beavers Date: September 13, 2025 Location: Eugene, Oregon 2026: Boise State Broncos Date: September 5, 2026 Location: Eugene, Oregon 2026: Oklahoma State Cowboys Date: September 12, 2026 Location: Stillwater, Oklahoma 2026: Portland State Vikings Date: September 19, 2026 Location: Eugene, Oregon 2027: Eastern Washington Eagles Date: September 4, 2027 Location: Eugene, Oregon 2027: Baylor Bears Date: September 11, 2027 Location: Waco, Texas 2028: North Dakota State Bison Date: September 2, 2028 Location: Eugene, Oregon 2028: Baylor Bears Date: September 9, 2028 Location: Eugene, Oregon 2029: Portland State Vikings Date: September 1, 2029 Location: Eugene, Oregon 2029: Utah State Aggies Date: September 15, 2029 Location: Eugene, Oregon 2033: Texas Tech Red Raiders Date: September 17, 2033 Location: Eugene, Oregon Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.
USA Today
31 minutes ago
- USA Today
Iowa football patiently awaiting injury return of key defensive cog
Iowa football is in the midst of its second week of fall camp. On Wednesday, Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz caught up with longtime Hawkeye play-by-play voice Gary Dolphin to update how camp is going. Ferentz revealed that Iowa's defensive depth up front has been tested early in camp. "Up front, Jeremiah Pittman's been out. Unfortunately he's coming off a knee repair, so he's still probably a week or two away from going, but it's given other guys an opportunity to get in there and work some. "Obviously, Aaron Graves on one side's pretty solid and then you've got guys like Will Hubert's really done a good job growing, developing. Bryce Hawthorne, young man from South Dakota State's really been impressive. Luke Gaffney. So, we'll have candidates. It's going to be interesting to see how it all develops and we'll get Jeremiah back at some point. I think at the end of the day, that group's going to be fine," Ferentz said. Pittman, a 6-foot-2, 285-pound graduate defensive lineman, was listed as one of Iowa's two starting defensive tackles to begin the spring opposite senior Aaron Graves. Pittman played in all 13 games last season, registering 17 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. The Palatine, Ill., product from St. Viator High School has notched 27 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, one pass breakup and one fumble recovery in his Hawkeye career thus far. Pittman has played in 26 games in his Iowa career and was a three-star signee per 247Sports in the 2021 class. Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions. Follow Josh on X: @JoshOnREF
