Transfer tracker: Former Notre Dame OL Sam Pendleton posts peak performance in Week 13

Sam Pendleton’s first season in Knoxville has featured plenty of peaks and valleys. Some weeks, the former Notre Dame offensive lineman has graded out among the best centers in the SEC. Other weeks, he’s been among the worst. Last week, it was the former.

In a 31-11 win against Florida last Saturday, Pendleton posted an 80.7 Pro Football Focus pass-blocking grade, good for fifth among SEC offensive linemen. He was also just nine-tenths of a point away from recording the second-best mark in Week 13.

Pendleton was one of 10 former Notre Dame players who transferred last offseason and saw action in Week 13. Here’s how they performed.

Note: Players are listed alphabetically, and all games were played from Nov. 19-22.

QB Steve Angeli | Syracuse (3-8): Before he suffered a season-ending Achilles injury Sept. 20 vs. Clemson, Angeli threw for 1,317 yards and 10 touchdowns while completing 98-156 passes with only 2 interceptions in four games.

OL Ty Chan | Connecticut (9-3): Played a season-low 2 snaps in a 48-5 victory over Florida Atlantic (4-7).

WR Deion Colzie | Miami Ohio (6-5): Returned to the lineup for the first time in four weeks and played 14 snaps. He didn’t record any stats in a 37-20 win over Buffalo (5-6).

OL Pat Coogan | No. 2 Indiana (11-0): The Hoosiers had a bye week. Coogan has started every game at center this season and ranks third at the position in the Big Ten, per PFF.

DL Tyson Ford | California (6-5): Appeared on 15 plays in a 31-10 loss to Stanford (4-7) and recorded a tackle.

EDGE Aiden Gobaira | James Madison (10-1): Logged 34 snaps and a tackle in a 24-20 win over Washington State (5-6). He remains a major special teams contributor, assisting on every unit.

CB Jaden Mickey | Boise State (7-4): Was terrific against the run in his sixth straight start, posting a PFF 90.9 run defense grade that ranked second among all FBS defensive backs in a 49-21 victory over Colorado State (2-9). He had 2 tackles and a forced fumble. In coverage, he allowed 5 catches for 101 yards on 10 targets. He also contributed on kick return, punt coverage and field goal block.

OL Sam Pendleton | No. 19 Tennessee (8-3): Posted his second-best pass-blocking grade of the season (80.7) in a 31-11 win over Florida (3-8). He didn’t allow any quarterback pressures in 25 pass-blocking snaps. In the run game, Volunteer rushers recorded 120 yards and 1 touchdown on 20 carries (6 yards per carry) when running middle left or middle right, which Pendleton controlled as the starting center.

OL Rocco Spindler | Nebraska (7-4): Started his 11th game for the Cornhuskers in a 37-10 loss to Penn State (5-6). He allowed a quarterback hurry in 45 pass-block snaps. Nebraska rushers gained 12 yards on 2 carries when running behind him.

WR Jayden Thomas | No. 18 Virginia (9-2): The Cavaliers had a bye week. In 9 games, he has 3 catches for 9 yards.

LB Kennedy Urlacher | No. 17 USC (8-3): Made his first career start at strong safety and was a major presence on defense. He had an interception on USC’s second defensive drive of the second half, setting up a scoring drive that cut Oregon’s lead to 28-21. However, USC went on to lose 42-27 to the Ducks (10-1).

Urlacher finished second on the team with 9 tackles and played 72 of 74 defensive snaps. In coverage, he gave up 9 catches for 86 yards and a touchdown on 9 targets. He also played on the punt coverage, punt return and field goal block teams.

DE Andrew Yanoshak | Dayton (7-4): The former Notre Dame tight end turned defensive lineman recorded a sack in a 42-14 victory over Davidson (2-10).

K Zac Yoakam | Houston (8-3): Handled kickoff duties in a 17-14 loss to TCU (7-4), producing 2 touchbacks on 3 kicks.