2023 OL Sam Pendleton Previews Notre Dame Trip, Process

Sam Pendleton‍ seemed to be narrowing the end of the recruiting process, when he was asked a question that changed the trajectory of his recruitment and could end up changing the entire outcome.

The 2023 North Carolina offensive lineman had already announced his Top Five and appeared to be getting close to a final decision when he was asked during a media event last month if there were any schools he would still like to hear from.

Pendleton mentioned Notre Dame was a school he’d “really love to hear from.”

Irish offensive line coach Harry Hiestand apparently got word and reached out to the Reagan High School standout.

“We talked a little bit and then three days later he called me back and offered me,” the 6-foot-5, 295-pounder explained.

“I was super excited…I was just very blessed and really excited to get this thing going.”

At the start of February, Pendleton announced a Top Five of Clemson, NC State, Virginia Tech, Penn State and Michigan.

Since announcing his leaders, in addition to Notre Dame, Pendleton has added offers from Stanford, Kentucky, West Virginia, Florida and Boston College among others.

The Irish offer certainly made a big impression on him.

“I'm a really big tradition guy,” he said. “I want to go to a school with rich tradition. I think Notre Dame has a lot of rich tradition, especially with football, but not only with football. They have a rich tradition of fans. They have a rich tradition of education. I feel like they have a lot to offer with all things for my future; football and education.”

He’s set to make a visit to South Bend this weekend.

“I really just want to see how Coach Hiestand develops guys,” Pendleton said. “I know he's been historically really great at it. I just want to see how he coaches, what his coaching style is like in person.

“I want to get a look at the education part. I want to talk about their Engineering Department and just be around the guys. I really want to be around the players, want to be around the coaches and just take in the atmosphere and go from there.”

He’s also slated to visit Gainesville later this month.

“I like that Florida places a lot of emphasis on their o-line play,” he said. “Obviously, they have Coach (Rob) Sale, but they also have Coach (Darnell) Stapleton. It speaks to volume that a program has two full-time offensive line coaches.

“They've just done a really great job of keeping in touch and talking ball and really just done a great job recruiting. I feel like I have to go down there and see what they have to offer, especially with the new coaching staff.”

Pendleton doesn’t have a firm timeline for what’s next in his process.

“I probably will release like a Top Three. I don't know when, and I don't know who just yet. With regards to committing, I don't know when that will happen. I feel like right now, I just need to take my visits and let those soak in and see what happens and go from there.”