Notre Dame Guard Sam Pendleton Enters The Transfer Portal

Notre Dame suffered its first postseason transfer departure today with offensive lineman Sam Pendleton entering the portal. Pendleton is the first player to do but he won't be the last, as the Irish roster will naturally suffer some departures. Notre Dame and Ohio State players have a five-day window this week to enter the portal.

Pendleton was a four-star player in Notre Dame's 2023 recruiting class and he entered the 2024 season in the two-deep early in the spring. During fall camp Pendleton emerged and earned a starting spot at left guard. Pendleton had some good moments early on, especially in the run game where his physically and strength allowed him to have some highlight reel blocks in the first few games.

His youth got the better of him as the season wore on as Pendleton had trouble with consistency of execution, and his pass blocking became more and more problematic. When Billy Schrauth returned from injury for the Navy game he was moved over to left guard in place of Pendleton, who was moved to the bench as a key reserve. Pendleton was thrust onto the field against Indiana after Rocco Spindler went down with an ankle injury and the young blocker struggled in that moment. 

Pendleton has a very bright future and the struggles this season should benefit him moving forward. He has talent and when he was confident in what he was doing he could be an impactful run blocker. Moving forward his footwork in pass pro and his consistency will need to be improved. But wherever he ends up that school is landing a big and physical blocker that got very valuable experience this season. Pendleton also spent time at guard and center, which gives him much-valued positional flexibility.

At Notre Dame, Pendleton was going to have a tough time getting back into the starting lineup. Schrauth has two more seasons left, Notre Dame could bring back Spindler, one of Charles Jagusah or Anthonie Knapp could slide inside and compete at guard, as well as the potential of very talented young blockers like Sullivan Absher. 

Pendleton will have three seasons of eligibility remaining at whatever school he ends up transferring to this spring.