Sam Pendleton doesn’t blow smoke.
After receiving an offer from Clemson, one he’d been hoping for, the 2023 four-star offensive tackle out of Reagan (Pfafftwon, N.C.) spoke with The Clemson Insider and was pretty candid about the state of his recruitment and what an offer from the Tigers ultimately means to him.
“It was a really, really big deal to me,” Pendleton said. “I was definitely emotional. Clemson’s been a dream for me for a long time. Ever since I was in seventh or eighth grade, once I started paying attention and got serious about football…it just means a lot to me.”
He referred to his Clemson recruitment as a “rollercoaster,” but couldn’t be happier to now have an offer from the Tigers in hand. Clemson offered the standout lineman from the Tar Heel State on Thursday, Jan. 14.
Pendleton has been in contact with Thomas Austin ever since he took over as Clemson’s offensive line coach. With that being said, how would he characterize his relationship with Austin?
“Right now, me and Coach Austin, we’re pretty close,” he said. “But that’s to be expected because I haven’t been down to meet him as the new offensive line coach. It’s as close as can be, as expected. He texts me every day, asks me how I’m doing. It’s just the small things. He’ll ask me about my family, ask me about my sister’s basketball thing. It’s not all about football and he knows that because he’s a family guy, which I respect.”
Pendleton camped at Clemson this past summer and he got pretty close with Caldwell, especially over these past six months.
“I feel like Coach Austin is a very capable candidate,” he said. “Just at camp, when he was still in an assistant role, he was very helpful. He was really involved. Coach Caldwell voiced his interest in me, even as a younger guy and Coach Austin took that and ran with it at camp. He was always around me, giving me pointers, stuff that makes me more efficient, stuff to fix. Always just giving me great advice.
“For what little experience I have around Coach Austin, he’s a great coach. On the field, he’s very calculated, knows what he’s doing and obviously, he’s been studying under a really good coach in Coach Caldwell and I think he’s really deserving of a job and I think he’s gonna do a great job.”
“Coach Austin is relatively young. It encourages me as a recruit with Coach Austin because he’s with what’s going on in the modern-day, where the game is trending. The game never stops going up, something always is gonna change. Coach Austin being in the position that he is and also with the football world, I feel like he has a really great understanding of where it’s going in the future and I feel like he has a great vision for that.
Right now, Austin plans on stopping by Reagan High School sometime this week to watch him work out. Pendleton is slated to attend Clemson’s Elite Junior Day on Saturday, Jan. 29.
While Pendleton is looking to make his commitment decision in mid-to-late February, he thinks it’s a bit premature that multiple recruiting services have pegged him to commit to Michigan already. He doesn’t think that’s fair to the other schools recruiting him, especially Clemson.
“Yes, Michigan is a really great option,” Pendleton said. “They’re a really good university. I love (Michigan offensive line) Coach (Sherrone) Moore, but also it’s Clemson. I feel like no one is taking into account that that was like my school for a long time. I’m not gonna lie, at the beginning of my recruitment, Clemson was the one school that I really wanted to hear from. Now that that’s happened, I said earlier, Clemson, Penn State and Michigan, they’re all on a level playing field right now. There’s no leader for me.
“I’m an honest guy. I don’t B.S. anybody. I don’t like to sugarcoat because I don’t like to be sugar-coated. If I want to talk to somebody, I want you to be honest with me, even if it hurts my feelings, regardless of what happens. I don’t blow smoke. I’m just saying that I can’t rank those top-3 right now.”
So, Pendleton will weigh his options, likely between those three aforementioned schools. Sometime next month after he takes his visits, he’ll sit down with his parents and make a decision on his next home. His parents have been very influential in his recruitment process, not necessarily telling Pendleton where to go, but helping him weigh his options and leave no stones unturned.
“I’m looking behind the scenes,” he said. “I want to see why you think, what you think and who you think about. Why would I fit there? Where would I play? How would I fit into your scheme? Why do you think I should come to your school? Because I learned something really early in my recruitment, you control where you go.”
That’s especially true when it comes to Clemson for Pendleton.
“I’m looking forward to getting back to Clemson — I’ve been already — but, I’m looking for the small things. Hands down, Clemson is one of the coolest places I’ve been. The weight room is amazing. The fields, the area is great, Death Valley is like no other, but everywhere has something like that, especially the big programs. I want to see the coaches, the atmosphere, the players. That’s what I’m looking forward to.”
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