Cole Pennington Re-Opens Recruitment as He Looks for Next Program After Marshall Exit

Cole Pennington is still looking for his next college program after deciding to exit Marshall, the school where his dad made his name, earlier in the month.

On Saturday, Pennington announced he’s re-opening his recruitment “due to unforeseen circumstances” and is withdrawing his commitment to South Dakota. He initially committed to South Dakota on Dec. 19 after revealing his plans to transfer from Marshall on Dec. 9.

In the Transfer Portal. pic.twitter.com/jR24axab3j

— Cole Pennington (@c_pennington10) December 27, 2024

Listed at 6-foot-3 and 209 pounds, Pennington has two years left of eligibility. He spent three years at Marshall, including a redshirt season in 2022.

Pennington only threw seven passes in 2024 despite some calling for him to be the starter in the offseason. He did throw a touchdown and has 752 yards passing in his college career so far.

He’s already received a new offer from Albany.

Even though Marshall is coming off a conference title, the Thundering Herd are dealing with a coaching transistor from Charles Huff to Tony Gibson.

The official announcement of Gibson being hired came shortly after Huff was hired away by Southern Miss earlier in the day. On Saturday night, Marshall dominated Louisiana 31-3 to win the Sun Belt title, the program’s first conference title of any kind since 2014.

The win in the Sun Belt Conference Championship Game awarded the Herd their 10th win of the season, marking a new best during the Huff era.

Cole Pennington is the son of former Marshall star quarterback and NFL veteran Chad Pennington.