Notre Dame freshman Sam Pendleton is stuck in a numbers game and is preparing to transfer

As the Notre Dame football team arrived back in South Bend on Tuesday after the conclusion of its national title game, reality set in when it came to the 2025 Irish.

Specifically, it’s about the numbers game.

On Wednesday, offensive guard Sam Pendleton became the first Irish player to take advantage of the transfer portal’s special five-day transfer window, with more to come.

That still leaves Notre Dame with 103 scholarship commitments for 2025, 18 above the NCAA maximum of 85 players if that limit actually remains in place. That may or may not change after April 7, as the NCAA’s collegiate sports model continues its seismic evolution driven by litigation and Congress.

Even with an increased scholarship limit, the path to playing time for the former left offensive back was extremely narrow. Pendleton, a former four-star prospect, will have three years of eligibility at his new school since he redshirted as a freshman in 2023.

With Pendleton, Notre Dame may have returned eight offensive lineman with starting experience in 2024 and a ninth, tackle Tosh Baker, with starting experience earlier in his career.

And young prodigies like freshman Guerby Lambert and new five-star freshman Wll Black. Due to Pendleton’s impending departure, there are still 23 offensive linemen on the 2025 roster, including four newcomers.

Pendleton was a surprise story in August training camp when he beat out two seniors with starting experience, Rocco Spindler and Pat Coogan, for the starting left guard spot. He ended up starting seven games for the Irish, playing in 13 of the 16 as O-linemen.

Coogan and Spindler eventually became backup starters when the offensive line suffered serious injuries in mid-September. And when Billy Schrauth returned from injury in October, Coogan and Spindler remained in the starting lineup and Pendleton became the reserve after ND’s 31-13 win in Atlanta on Oct. 19 over Georgia Tech.

Pendleton played just four total snaps in ND’s final three regular season games.

In the College Football Playoff win over Indiana on December 20, he filled in for an injured Spindler at right guard when Spindler sprained an ankle. But Pendleton didn’t play an offensive snap after that in the games against Georgia, Penn State and Ohio State.

Pro Football Focus gave him a season film grade of 63.2, sixth-best among the eight offensive linemen who made at least one start for the Irish during the 2024 season.

The special transfer portal window runs through the end of the day on Saturday for all members of the Notre Dame and Ohio State teams. The Buckeyes defeated the Irish 34-23 in the CFP National Championship Game on Monday night in Atlanta.

Three Irish players entered the transfer portal when it opened on Dec. 9, two of whom did not play a down for the Irish this season — defensive tackle Tyson Ford and defensive end Aiden Gobaira.

The third, cornerback Jaden Mickey, was redshirted after Game 4 this season to retain one season of eligibility and add it to his reserves at his new school.

Both Ford and Mickey transferred to Cal. Gobaira ended up at James Madison.