Who is Marshall’s quarterback Cole Pennington? All we know about the QB

Cole Pennington is the third-string quarterback for the Marshall Thundering Herd. He is a sophomore who did not get a lot of playing time in his early college football career.

However, there is more to Pennington than most fans would think when looking at a third-stringer. Notably, he shares a close connection to a former Marshall star quarterback and NFL player.

Cole Pennington is related to Chad Pennington

Cole Pennington has a famous last name at Marshall because his father was once a quarterback for the Thundering Herd.

His father is Chad Pennington, and he was the quarterback for Marshall from 1997 to 1999. Chad threw for 11,446 yards in 28 games, completing 848 of 1,334 passing attempts and scoring 107 passing touchdowns.

Chad went on to get drafted by the New York Jets in the first round of the 2000 NFL Draft. He played parts of 11 seasons in the NFL, from 2000 to 2010, and was with the Jets from 2000 to 2007, and the Miami Dolphins from 2008 to 2010.

Chad Pennington appeared in 89 regular season games and six playoff games during his 11-year NFL career.

Chad has three sons with his wife Robin Hampton, including Cole Pennington. He coached Cole in high school, helping him accumulate a 16-4 record and over 4,000 passing yards.

Cole Pennington's stats in college

Cole Pennington is the third-string quarterback for Marshall Thundering Herd this season, behind Braylon Braxton and Stone Earle. This is his third year with Marshall, including his redshirt freshman year in 2022.

Pennington appeared in his first college games during the 2023 season. He had four appearances, most notably appearing in Marshall's loss to UTSA in the Scooter's Coffee Fresco Bowl.

Pennington had a good performance in that game, despite a loss, completing 15 passes and throwing for 258 yards. His full-season stats for 2023 included completing 64 of 112 passing attempts and throwing for 695 yards.

This season, Pennington has had one appearance. He was brought into the game in Week 1 on the final drive with his team already losing 45-3 to Stony Brook. He did well on the drive, completing four of five passing attempts, throwing for 552 yards and getting a touchdown.

Pennington is not expected to play much this season. Marshall has two quarterbacks ahead of him on the depth chart. So, unless there are several injuries or both underperform, Pennington will not get another chance to start until next season.