A verbal commit since April, offensive lineman Sam Pendleton is officially Irish. He signed on Wednesday to lock in his commitment with Notre Dame. Pendleton is one of two recruits out of North Carolina in this year's cycle for the Irish, joining Sullivan Absher on the offensive line. The Irish won both recruitment battles over the Clemson Tigers. Early in February, a few crystal ball predictions picked Pendleton to head to Clemson, but he verbally committed to Notre Dame on April 25.
Pendleton is one of five offensive linemen in this class for Notre Dame. All five recruits earned a grade of either 5.8 or 5.9 on the Rivals recruiting scale. This puts them within the “All-American Candidate” section, which ranges from 5.8-6.0. Pendleton checks in with a 5.8 grade, ranking No. 17 at the position. Kyle Kelly, a Notre Dame recruiting analyst for Rivals, spoke on the offensive line class.
“I really trust Harry Hiestand with his track record and developing guys and picking out his guys in the class and bringing them to Notre Dame. Across the board, I think it’s a really solid [offensive line] class,” Kelly said. “There’s a lot of trust in Harry Hiestand and the guys he’s picked out.”
Pendelton made six visits to North Carolina State, but after committing to Notre Dame, he did not offically visit any other campus. He returned to South Bend in June and then again in November to see the Irish manhandle then-No. 4 Clemson, 35-14.
Pendleton is 6'5 and 293 pounds and primarily played right tackle for Ronald Reagan High School. He helped his team to an 8-3 record this past season. Although a tackle in high school, most analysts project Pendleton to shift towards the interior, either at guard or center. The Irish do need to replace two starters from the interior offensive line. However, it will likely be a few seasons before Pendleton challenges for a starting spot.
Contact Aidan Thomas at athoma28@nd.edu.
