Wolverine Digest

Has Michigan football found its next transfer offensive lineman?

Trent Knoop|
Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

Michigan has had plenty of attrition on its offensive line heading into the 2025 season. Starter Andrew Gentry is gone, and so are depth pieces like Tristan Bounds and Raheem Anderson, among others. The Wolverines have landed two transfer linemen so far, but both played at a lower level.

Sherrone Moore and Co. first landed Cal Poly's Brady Norton and then later added Ferris State lineman Lawrence Hattar. Both were great for their respective colleges, but it's unclear how either fit into the mix without having any D1 experience. Acclimation to the Big Ten will be another thing to watch.

But there has been a new development in the transfer portal that could draw Michigan's attention. Following losing to Ohio State in the National Championship Game, Notre Dame offensive lineman Rocco Spindler has entered the transfer portal.

Spindler has one year of eligibility remaining and there just might be interest between the two sides. Spindler was a big Michigan target when he was in high school. The Clarkston (MI) product visited Ann Arbor several times for a visit before he chose to commit to the Irish over the Wolverines. Spindler started at RG for Notre Dame in both 2023 and 2024.

Per Pro Football Focus, Spindler didn't allow one sack in 2024 but did allow 10 pressures while playing right guard. He earned a 71.8 pass-blocking grade and a 70.3 run-blocking grade while playing 747 snaps for the Irish this year. For comparison, Spindler would've been the top run-blocking lineman on Michigan's team. He would've been behind both Greg Crippen and Gio El-Hadi in pass-blocking.

Michigan had El-Hadi announce he was coming back for another season and he was the Wolverines' starting RG last season. But LG is an open position at the moment. Either El-Hadi or Spindler could bump to LG while the other stays at RG.

Rocco Spindle
Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

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More Michigan News:

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Column: 2025 Way-too-early top 25 rankings

For additional coverage of University of Michigan athletics:

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Trent Knoop
TRENT KNOOP

Trent began writing and covering Michigan athletics back in 2020. He became a credentialed member of the media in 2021. Trent began writing with Sports Illustrated in 2023 and became the Managing Editor for Michigan Wolverines On SI during the 2025 football season. Trent also serves as the Publisher of Baylor Bears on SI. His other bylines have appeared on Maryland on SI, Wisconsin on SI, and across the USA TODAY Sports network. Trent’s love of sports and being able to tell stories to fans is what made him get into writing.

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