Class Impact: Breaking Down Sam Pendleton's Commitment To Notre Dame

Breaking down how the commitment of Sam Pendleton impacts the Notre Dame recruiting class and depth chart

Notre Dame picked up another 2023 commitment tonight with Pfafftown (N.C.) Ronald Reagan standout offensive lineman Sam Pendleton pledging to the Fighting Irish. 

Let's break down how landing Pendleton impacts the Notre Dame class and depth chart.

NOTRE DAME CLASS IMPACT

Landing Pendleton gives Notre Dame 10 commitments in the 2023 class. He is the fourth offensive player to commit to Notre Dame and the first offensive lineman to jump into the class.

Notre Dame landed back-to-back five-man classes in 2021 and 2022, so the Irish weren't necessarily in a big "need" year along the offensive line. Right now the staff appears to be focused on four blockers, but it would be willing to go to five if its the right five. Pendleton was clearly part of that group.

Beyond numbers, Pendleton has two very important factors to consider when looking at his impact in the class. For one, it's clear that line coach Harry Hiestand wanted to add more and more physical/powerful players to the class. We'll discuss those specific traits below, but needless to say Pendleton fits that mold.

He plays offensive tackle in high school but Notre Dame is recruiting him as an interior player.

NOTRE DAME FIT

The first thing that stands out about Pendleton on film is his power. This is a young man with extremely powerful hands. In fact, he has as good of a punch as about any lineman in the country.

Pendleton shows good lower body strength and he explodes off the ball. Pendleton does a great job driving his feet and hips through contact. That adds to his power and makes him a punishing blocker at the prep level. Pendleton also projects well to the next level, especially as he cleans up a few technical issues that he has.

Pendleton shows good foot quickness for a bigger, power player but he's more of a short-area player, which is why he projects to move inside. The Reagan standout is a fundamentally sound football player that does a good job keeping his pads low and his hips square to the line.

Just where Pendleton ends up position wise remains to be seen. Right now Pendleton is projected as a guard, but his combination of strong hands, fast hands and quick feet also project very well to center.

Either way, landing Pendleton gives Notre Dame a talented, powerful interior blocker.

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Irish Breakdown Content

Notre Dame 2022 Roster
Notre Dame 2022 Schedule

Notre Dame 2023 Class Big Board
Notre Dame 2023 Commits Board - Offense
Notre Dame 2023 Commits Board - Defense

Notre Dame 2023 Scholarship Offers
Notre Dame 2024 Scholarship Offers

Ranking The 2022 Signees - Offense
Ranking The 2022 Signees - Defense

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