Hard to believe, but there are under 60 days until the Broncos storm the Capital to take on the Hokies. As you may remember, last summer I embarked on the Herculean task of counting down a different roster spot for each remaining day until kickoff. So far this year, we're batting a thousand, so drop me notes of encouragement now and again so I can find the strength to get through the next couple months without breaking the streak.
We've got 57 days until kickoff...so today we'll take a look at #57 on the Boise State roster—Garrett Pendergast
#57, Garrett Pendergast, Junior, OL
Stats
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 271 lbs.
High School: Servite High School, Whittier, CA
How'd he get to The Blue™?
Pendergast was a Velocity/Prep Star All-Region performer at Servite starring as both guard and defensive tackle. As a senior, Pendergast was named first-team All-Trinity League and second-team All-Orange County by the Orange County Register as an offensive lineman and second-team All-CIF-SS as a defensive lineman. As a junior, Pendergast was named first-team All-Serra league and was voted "best newcomer". In 2007, Pendergast was rated as California's No. 14 offensive lineman, the West Coast's 37th-rated offensive guard by Scout.com, and the nation's 46th-best defensive tackle by Rivals.com. Pendergast was also a league champ in the shot put. Rated a 3-star prospect by Scout.com and earning a 74 grade by ESPN's recruiting service, Pendergast pulled in scholarship offers from Boise State and Colorado State.
Nickname
"Brutus"
Dude looks quite non-plussed in his photo.
Look-a-like
All apologies.
Career highlights
Significant playing time in 2009, appearing in 11 games with five starts.
Career lowlight
Broken ankle during bowl prep forced him out of the Fiesta Bowl lineup.
2010 prospectus
Another versatile lineman for the Broncos, Pendergast could feasibly line up at center, guard, or tackle. Last season, he did most of his work at tackle, earning 5 starts in 11 appearances until a broken ankle sidelined him before the Fiesta Bowl. Well, they say when one door is closed a window is opened, and Pendergast's injury allowed Bronco Nation to glimpse the next potential star at right tackle, Brenel Myers. Now, I'm not saying that Pendergast didn't perform capably at tackle during the season—he did—it's just that his injury created a shuffle along the line that allowed Myers to showcase his skills at tackle, which ended up being a natural position. So...now everyone is enamored with Myers at right tackle, but that doesn't mean that Pendergast (or even Matt Slater) are chopped liver. Pendergast was still rehabbing his ankle injury this Spring and didn't see any time on the field, which, unfortunately will allow Myers to become more deeply entrenched at the position and while Pendergast's experience could help him regain ground this Fall, it might just be that Myers is the better tackle. When Garrett returns for Fall camp, the O-line landscape will have changed drastically from a year ago...Nate Potter is now playing left guard, Joe Kellogg is now at center, Brenel Myers is the favorite to win the right tackle spot, and the other tackle position looks like a two-man race between Charles Leno and Faraji Wright. There really isn't much room to move around for Pendergast, so I think he'll just stay pat and battle it out with Slater and Myers in the Fall—winner take all. Based on what is admittedly a small body of work, I would say that Myers will be the man to beat, but I think Pendergast will push him the hardest and get plenty of reps in 2010, just less overall starts.
Completely made up fact
Pendergast once won a staring contest against Stevie Wonder.