Up today in our Georgia Tech Football transfer profile is Mississippi State offensive guard transfer Nick Pendley. Pendley comes to The Flats after two years in Starksville and enters the Tech program with four years of eligibility.
https://twitter.com/nickpen74/status/1332515152525225990?s=21
His recruitment out of high school:
A native of Canton, Georgia, Pendley was a three-star recruit in the 2019 recruiting cycle out of Creekview High School. He joins freshman linebackers Tyson Meiguez and Khatavian Franks as Yellow Jackets out of the Creekside program.
In that 2019 recruiting cycle, Pendley was ranked as a top-750 recruit by 247Sport’s composite rankings as well as a top-50 offensive guard and top-75 player in the Peach State.
Over his recruitment, he received 22 scholarship offers which included programs such as Army, Colorado State, Florida State, Indiana, Miami, Missouri, North Carolina, and USC. He would take his recruitment all the way to right before the December signing period, committing to Mississippi State on December 10, 2019 and signing with them less than two weeks later.
At Mississippi State:
During his two years in Starksville, Pendley appeared in six games total. He appeared in a pair of games as a true freshman in 2019 and then played in four games this past season for the Bulldogs. As long as the NCAA eventually passes the one-time, free transfer rule sometime this offseason, he’ll have four years to play on The Flats.
What to expect from him on The Flats:
Pendley brings good size at 6-foot-4 and 310-pounds and has some game experience which will help a rather young position group. The Yellow Jackets luckily are getting back Ryan Johnson to hold down the right side of the Jackets offensive line next season but did lose Jack DeFoor, on the left side. That opens up a potential starting spot for Pendley to step into though he’ll have to compete for that spot, likely against Austin Smith and Michael Maye.
It’s a bit hard to project just how ready Pendley is and that quality of play he could provide as the starter. Most would likely agree that he would’ve benefited from being a backup for another season had Jack DeFoor returned to The Flats for another season. Now, with DeFoor gone, the Jackets will need to throw Pendley, Smith, or Maye into the proverbial fire faster than they may have expected. That being said, Pendley does have solid potential and should be at the least a quality left guard for the Jackets in 2021.