Rocco Spindler injury update: Matt Rhule reveals Nebraska OL had to be taken to hospital

Nebraska offensive lineman Rocco Spindler was taken to the hospital during Friday’s loss to Minnesota, Cornhuskers head coach Matt Rhule said. He went down early in the game with an injury.

Rhule didn’t know many specifics about Spindler’s injury, which occurred in the first quarter of Friday’s game. The offensive lineman was dealing with a hand injury, and Rhule learned of that during the game.

During his postgame press conference, Rhule confirmed Spindler had to go to the hospital for more treatment. He offered prayers for his starting right guard, as well.

“Rocco going down, our prayers are up for him,” Rhule said. “Hopefully he’s okay. I know they had to take him to the hospital.”

Spindler arrived at Nebraska this year after transferring from Notre Dame. With the Fighting Irish, he played 40 games and made 23 starts at right guard across three full seasons. He took a redshirt as a freshman in 2021.

So far at Nebraska, Spindler immediately stepped into the starting right guard role to help protect Dylan Raiola. After Rhule learned of the hand injury, he heard Spindler had to go to the hospital right away.

“Rocco, all they said to me was he came off the field and they said he broke his hand, broke his finger,” Rhule said. “It sounded like it was even more serious than that. I don’t want to say everything without knowing. But they had to take him to the hospital immediately.”

Nebraska dealt two blows on OL in Minnesota loss

Rocco Spindler was one of two offensive linemen who had to leave the game for Nebraska. Left tackle Elijah Pritchett was ejected for targeting in the second quarter – a rarity for an offensive player. He laid a big hit on a Minnesota defender, whom the officials deemed a defenseless player.

After review, the referees upheld the targeting call. FOX Sports rules analyst Mike Pereira agreed with the call and that the defender was defenseless, by rule.

“I’m with you. I think it is targeting,” Pereira said on the broadcast. “You’ve got the player on the ground, like you talked, is defenseless.”

Pritchett is in his first season at Nebraska after transferring from Alabama this offseason. He spent three seasons with the Crimson Tide and made 12 starts in 29 appearances during that time. In 2024, he started 11 games at right tackle and one at left tackle while earning a spot on the Outland Trophy Watch List during the season.